Secret Guardian
by Sunshine-Girl234
Summary: First I was a shop owner near the Hidden Storm Village, and now I'm working for the Akatsuki to help them hunt down the Jinchuuriki. Unfortunately for me I'm cursed in a way that I have been alive for the past 115 years and for the majority of my life I've been hunting down my older brother to try to lift the curse. On top of this crazy fiasco, I've started to fall for a member.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this is the first chapter of the rewrite of Guardians. There is a significant change and I hope you guys do like it. Enjoy! I do not own freaking Naruto.**

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_**Ding.**_ I groaned at the sound of the door opening downstairs as I tried to continue sleeping. I am a shop owner and live upstairs of where I work. My business consisted of making, selling, and trading weapons and other shinobi tools, medicines, or anything else related.

"Ai, wake up!" a shout rang as I was tackled by a brown blob.

"Stupid beast," I shouted picking up the brown cat up by the scruff. "What the hell was that for, Krill?!"

"Sorry, but we have customers downstairs," he purred.

"You don't need to tackle my damn face, fucker!" I growled as I put him down before rummaging through my drawers for something to wear.

Krill rolled his yellow eyes, "Whatever. Oh, and don't forget we're going to be traveling to Konoha next week; the Chuunin Exams are starting soon and it would be easy business."

"Yeah yeah I know; now get out so I can change," I said grabbing an outfit.

With a nod Krill walked back downstairs and sat by the register to make sure the two shinobi wouldn't steal anything. I began changing into my usual outfit. The top was a black leather tube-top that stopped above my belly button and black leather pants. I looked at myself in the full-body mirror in my room and sighed. My ruby red eyes stood out compared to my silver hair and pale complexion. I hated my appearance simply because it wasn't my natural hair or eye color; I used to be a brunette with amazing blue eyes. With a sigh I brushed my waist-length hair before heading downstairs to see Krill hissing at two shinobi.

"May I ask what the problem is?" I questioned walking over.

"We're ready to check out, but your cat wasn't doing anything about it. He then proceeded to insult us!" the man on the right explained.

I glared at Krill, "No catnip today."

Krill glared at the floor because of his misfortune.

I walked to the register giving them their total of 1,321 ryo before they hurried off with their purchased goods. "Was it necessary to give them a discount?" Krill asked.

"Since you managed to piss them off, yes," I replied, "And you still aren't getting any catnip."

He groaned before lying on the counter, "But I promise to behave, Ai-sama."

I glared at the adorable face he was giving me, "Kissing ass doesn't work on me."

"Still worth a try," he retorted.

I was about to reply but was silenced by the bell ringing on the door. My attention went to the door where I saw two figures in black cloaks with a red cloud design on them walking towards the counter. "Hello, how can I help you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You can help them by shutting up," Krill grumbled.

A deep chuckle was heard from the taller one, obviously amused, "We're here for supplies."

I noticed a giant sword on the tall man's back and instantly recognized it. Because I make weapons and all I made it my business to memorize each and every sword, including the swords belonging to the legendary swordsmen. "I know that sword; it's Samehada. Books say that the owner is Kisame Hoshigaki," I stated ignoring the tense atmosphere, "He's a former Mist ninja."

"I think she knows too much, eh?" the tall man said removing his straw hat to reveal blue skin and yellow beaded eyes.

"Cool, never had I actually met a legendary swordsman," I stated with a grin, "Tell you what your purchases are on the house. It's a great honor to meet you."

Kisame looked at me in confusion, "You do know that I'm a rogue ninja, right?"

"Yeah, and I also know that you could kill me right here and now. In my opinion it would be awesome to die by a swordsman. Couldn't get any better than that."

"Sometimes I wonder why I associate myself with you," Krill grumbled.

I glared at him, "You better thank your god that I haven't decided to break your neck yet."

"How can he talk? He doesn't have any chakra so he isn't a nin cat," the shorter one said in a deep voice.

I shrugged, "The fucker just can."

Krill sat up proudly, "I'm a more…sophisticated cat so to speak."

"You mean you're an annoying little fuck who doesn't know when to shut up," I deadpanned.

"You also lack chakra," he stated again, "But your necklace is filled with it."

I put a hand over the unique crystal-like jewel hanging from said necklace, "I made it so it would absorb my chakra; I didn't want to be a shinobi when I was younger."

"Why wouldn't you want to be a shinobi?" Kisame asked.

My eyes narrowed, "I believe you are here for supplies, not to question me for every bit of information. However, I will answer your question; I had and still have no desire to serve any village or Kage. Every single one of them are hypocrites along with council member. They determine who rogues are because they kill in their beliefs rather than following the system, but order the deaths of countless people because they hold secret information. I don't understand what the difference is."

Kisame grinned, "Seems like you lean more towards the rogues' side."

"You have more sense than my cat, "I said with a small smile. "Now about the supplies; what do you need?"

"We need kunai, soldier pills, shuriken, and anything else of that nature; word on the street is you have the best supplies," the younger man said removing his hat; his onyx eyes bore into mine.

"Itachi Uchiha, eh?" I asked before shrugging. I walked over to a display case and removed a drawer from the bottom. The long drawer contained a unique set of kunai: crystal. "Now these kunai I made from crystal as you can see. It reflects the light allowing it to blend with the background and gives the illusion of other kunai surrounding it. Because of said illusion it remains unseen."

I set the drawer down and balanced the kunai on my pointer, "It has perfect balance, smooth edges, and a clean cut for deadly accuracy." I then held the blade of said kunai and extended the kunai towards Itachi, "It comes in handy against most enemies. Because I had to add chakra for the illusion, anyone with Sharingan or Byakugan can easily detect the kunai."

"You made them, eh? You got some skill," Kisame grinned as Itachi held the kunai up to the light. The way the light hit the kunai made it blend with background and the reflected light made it seem that there were kunai suspended in mid air.

Itachi nodded, "How many of these do you have?"

"I currently have only six in stock; it's been a popular sell among some people with families for decoration. Most of the shinobi believe the kunai are kind of bogus; even before they got a chance to see what it did," I said rubbing the back of my head.

"We'll take the six along with regular kunai. When will you have more?" Itachi asked.

"I should have more by then end of next month if you're wanting more than just eight. It takes a while to make the kunai and I'll be heading out of town for more possible business in a week," I explained handing him the six crystal kunai.

Soon they had all the supplies from me; their purchases on the house as promised. The pair began walking out the door before I remembered something, "Do you guys need any explosive clay?"

Kisame looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "No, we don't."

I shrugged, "Okay, just wondering; I got a huge shipment in that I didn't order and it hasn't sold. Thanks anyways. Come again anytime."

With a nod the two rogues put their hats on and walked out into the street. Today was going to be a weird day.

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**I hope you guys did enjoy the chapter. I think I like it more than the other, but please let me know what you think! On a completely random note, I got these amazing blue fluffy slippers that make me feel like the freaking cookie monster! So awesome!**


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter is now posted! I really hope you guys enjoy the chapter; it doesn't have the Akatsuki in it but it's still good.

I do not own Naruto.

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I sighed as I put the drawer back where it belonged. I didn't tell the whole truth about why I had my chakra sealed away. I also knew why Krill could talk; it was because he was once human. Krill has been with me after the second shinobi war. I may have been alive for a very long time, but I haven't aged a day since the mishap with my older brother.

Madara Uchiha got in touch with my older brother and asked him to create a creature with ultimate power to help aid Obito in his mission. My brother agreed to his wish and immediately set to work with the assignment; unfortunately I was the target at the end of his experiment. After making the creature my brother made me immortal and replaced my real heart with the heart of the monster; the chakra of said monster happened to be a mixture of most of the tailed beasts allowing me to have control of their abilities; he tried to make a second one with my younger brother, but I sealed his soul in the body of the cat with half of mine to keep him alive.

Krill used to be my younger brother Markle but lost his memory after the soul transfer. Because I am a part of him he is also immortal in a way; the downfall with my soul being in him is that if he were to get harmed I would feel his pain as well. Thankfully it's all one-sided though so I know he will be safe if anything were to happen to me; at night would be the worst time for him to get hurt because that's when I go hunting for him.

At night is when I remove my necklace and track down my older brother who made himself immortal by transferring some of Kurama's chakra into his own body. While I hunt I wear a totally different outfit than my usual one; my hair is tied up into a bun with a purple ribbon and a purple kimono that is laced up the sides. My kind, caring personality is diminished as my cold, sinister side comes out during my quest. I lost everything because of my brother and I am determined to put things back where they should be; by killing him I will no longer be immortal and Markle will once again be back to normal.

"Krill, I'm going to the market, want anything?" I asked as I grabbed my money bag.

"Catnip?" he asked hopefully with a purr.

I sighed, "Fine; I'll be back."

The sun shone brightly in my eyes when I opened the door. The villagers were setting up decorations for the approaching festival surrounding the full moon. The villagers call it the Festival of the Guardian. The village believes that there is a guardian who watches over the village so once a month they celebrate to give their thanks. No one knew I was the guardian they thanked; they even went as far as asking for continued protection over their village and home. At night I also protect the village from any approaching danger whether or not they are shinobi or rogues; because of me everyone who lives here are at peace. They feel like they belong and welcomed.

"Ai, how are you my friend?" I looked over to see Daiki waving at me.

Daiki was the man who ran the fish booth. He is forty-six years of age and always had a smile on his tanned skin. His shaggy brown hair was kept neatly for a clean appearance.

"I'm doing well, thanks. Are you ready for the festival this week?" I asked.

"Indeed I am; thanks to the guardian my business has tripled over this past year. Tourists are coming to see the festival and hear the stories of the guardian and possible areas it could be found. It's amazing no one knows of its whereabouts throughout the years," Daiki replied.

"I know, you'd think it would have been spotted at least once," I chuckled.

"Ah, but it did; Akane the seamstress saw the silhouette of the creature. She said it looked dog-like but had beautiful long wings; stood a good twenty-four feet tall it did," he grinned.

"That's odd; Why would it want to show itself when it's been hiding from people from so long? It doesn't make any sense," I blinked; I didn't realize I got so careless to let myself get caught by an old seamstress.

"Who knows, but that just brings more of a mystery if you ask me," he shrugged. "Anyways, are you ready for the festival?"

I shook my head, "I'm not going to be helping this year; I'll be traveling to the Leaf Village during the Chuunin Exams so I can sell more."

"You're going to miss all of the tourists and the festival," Daiki frowned.

I let out a sigh, "I'll think about staying, but as of right now I'm planning on traveling."

"If you insist," he shrugged.

I continued walking down the streets until something caught my eye; a quilt with the guardian silhouette on it. I groaned quietly to myself, _'Great…now people will be hunting for me…'_

I shook my head and continued on to gather some catnip and food for the house. Daiki did make a good point about the tourists being here in town; maybe I should stay instead of leaving. The festival is going on and the village does still need protecting. I'd have to talk to Krill about it to get his opinion. I trusted the villagers, but I didn't trust shinobi, especially shinobi still loyal to their village. After gathering my groceries and the catnip I headed home and to continue with my day and prepare more of the crystal kunai for the two rogue ninja that stopped by earlier.

"Krill, I'm home!" I announced as I walked through the door.

"About time; things go okay?" he asked jumping down from one of the shelves along the wall.

"Yeah they did; apparently Akane saw me one night. She has the guardian on one of her quilts," I said.

"Ai you need to be more careful," Krill scowled.

"I know," I sighed, "And I don't know if we should head out this year."

"Why not?" he raised a kitty eyebrow.

"Not only will the village be left unprotected, but tourists will be coming to see the festival and to hear stories of the guardian. I think it would be better if we stayed here," I said.

Krill thought for a moment on the information I had given him, "I suppose you're right…With everyone walking through the village things could easily go wrong in a heartbeat…"

"So does that mean we're staying?" I asked putting away the groceries.

"I don't see the harm," he reasoned.

I smiled and gave him some catnip in which he ate willingly with a purr. Today was indeed an interesting but good day.

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I hope you guys enjoyed the story! Please review


	3. Chapter 3

Hello readers! I had a great idea to show some of Krill's personality a bit more in depth and ended up with one of the better chapters with a bit more information on Ai's character! Enjoy; I do not own Naruto.

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Ai could only be described as aggravated. It had been exactly one month since the swordsman and his partner had come and the shipment of liquidized crystal had yet to come in. It had approximately been four weeks since she ordered the supplies; clay had been arriving about every other day from an unknown source. She wouldn't complain about it if the explosive clay actually sold; she did however find a good use for the clay: explosive kunai. She designed the kunai to explode upon impact with the target. The deadly new weapon had been selling quickly greatly pleasing it's purchaser by speeding up missions and taking their target by surprise.

"Delivery for Ai Yutaka," a voice called from the store.

Ai immediately ran from the workshop downstairs to greet the delivery man, "Hello good sir."

"Hello, miss. I'm here to drop off a rather large shipment," he replied.

Ai nodded and went outside to see a carriage filled with crates of her liquidized crystal. "It finally came!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry it took so long but the order was large and the supplies are rather hard to come across."

Ai ignored him as she began carrying a couple of the boxed goods inside. The delivery man sighed and began helping her carry them inside. There was a total of twenty crates that had been delivered much to Ai's delight.

"Have a good day," the brunette said as he left Ai to her spoils.

Ai moved six boxes to the downstairs work room and quickly opened a crate to begin making more of her crystal kunai; she was only able to make twelve before she ran out of her supplies. She didn't know how impatient Itachi or Kisame were but she didn't take any chances; she told them she would get them more and she was going to keep her promise.

Krill wasn't thrilled with Ai that morning; not only did she refuse to give him catnip because she was pissy but she also forced him into taking a dreadful bath. He was a pissed little kitty. The brown fur ball had every intention of getting Ai back in a horrid way; an idea came to his mind that would make his human friend blow her stack. He grinned as the perfect opportunity was approaching: two cloaked figures. Krill ran past the fourteen boxes that were left upstairs by the workroom door and hurried down the stairs as the bell rang. He jumped onto the shelf that held the explosive clay and knocked a quart's worth into the fire that Ai had going to help her shape the kunai. _**Bang!**_ The explosion had destroyed all six crates of the rare liquid that were in the room. Ai was coughing from the black smoke that now filled the room; she was now covered in soot and ash hiding most of her features. As the room began to clear her eyes locked on the grinning face of a satisfied cat. "Krill…" Ai said dangerously, "I'm going to skin you alive..!"

Krill knew he was in severe trouble and darted up the stairs and climbed onto the top of the weapon shelves as the two men watched him.

"Get back here you stupid ass mother fucker! I'll make you regret every damn mistake you ever mad and torture you to the point where you wish your ass was dead!" Ai screamed as she appeared from the basement. "Do you have any idea how important that equipment was?! You practically destroyed everything and not to mention six crates of the crystal I use in order to make the kunai!"

Krill smirked from his safe place on top of the shelves, "Of course I know how important everything was that I just ruined. You denied me catnip because you were pissed and forced me into a bath; you needed to be punished for your short temperedness."

Ai sighed trying to calm herself down before looking at the two cloaked men. She recognized the coats but the silhouettes were different. "I'm assuming you two are here for the kunai that Itachi and Kisame wanted…"

The short one nodded and spoke in a very deep voice, "We were sent to retrieve the supplies."

Ai sent a cold glare at Krill, "I was only able to make twelve before the shipment arrived _and_ because a certain feline decided to blow up six crates worth of the liquidized crystal and six more of the kunai I had made."

Krill sat straight smugly at his work, "Like I said: the bitch deserved it."

The stressed shop owner let out a groan before getting the twelve kunai, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience; I would like to make it up to you in some way Mr.…"

"Sasori; my partner's name is Deidara," the deep voice replied.

Ai nodded and studied the pair, "If I'm not mistaken you smell of poison and Deidara has the scent of clay; would either of you be interested in explosive clay, poisons, or perhaps and books on poisons?"

Deidara let out a grin, "I would love to get some clay for my art, un."

"You're explosions are a ridiculous excuse for art. Art is eternal, brat," Sasori argued.

Ai sighed, "Follow me and I'll let you pick out what you like free of charge for your patients."

She then proceeded to lead the two Akatsuki members into the basement to gather them their wants, "Please excuse the mess…"

The pair looked around rather curiously at all the supplies the workshop held. There was an entire library in the far back corner barely touched by the explosion that held information from poisons and antidotes to history of the nations and any information pertaining to weapons. Sasori was intently scanning the book titles while Deidara was looking for the clay.

"Where is the clay, yeah?" Deidara asked.

Ai sighed and began climbing the shelves where she knew the clay was before Krill decided to be a little asshole and knock some into the burning fire. I cleared some of the soot away before finding a crate still intact.

"Why don't you use chakra?" Sasori asked noticing the effort she was putting into finding the brat's clay.

"You see dearest Sasori I choose not to use chakra because I feel no desire to be used as a tool by the neighboring villages," she explained as she carefully handed Deidara the small crate, "It's too much wasted time and energy to serve the wants of others instead of my own. I still do my part in the world but without having to deal with the unnecessary council members and their desires to control each individual."

Sasori sent her a glare when she addressed him as 'dearest Sasori', "Don't ever refer to me like that again or you will regret it."

Ai jumped down before sighing at the crystal sticking to the ground, "This is going to take too long to clean up…stupid cat."

"Why don't you just kill him, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"I'm not going to kill the only talking cat that isn't a ninja; not to mention he is the only person I can truly trust. Sure he is a pain in my ass but everyone has someone they respect with that quality. I can tell you two respect one another but annoy each other at the same time; before you ask it was your ark argument that gave it away." Ai replied.

Sasori went back to looking at the bookshelf when a certain book caught his eye. He immediately picked the book up and scanned the title, "Sage of Six Paths?" He cast a suspicious and questioning glance over at Ai, "How did you obtain this book; I have never even heard of anyone making a book about him." The puppet began flipping through and noticed it was more of a research book or a journal rather than an actual book.

"It had been passed down through my family," Ai replied simply appearing as if the information she just received didn't bother her. It was indeed passed down to her through her family, but it was her father that had given her the book as a young girl. Her Great Grandfather was the Sage of Six Paths and had written the journal himself.

The journal had contained all the information on the tailed beasts along with their personalities. Because she was directly related to him she was able to communicate with the demons telepathically while in her demon form. Besides Krill she trusted the tailed beasts and vowed to help them so they can be at peace.

Sasori nodded at her answer and put the book back in the shelf; he did intend on reporting the book to his leader. He settled with taking a few books on poisonous plants before bidding farewell and leaving with their belongings.

Ai let out a sigh of relief before walking back in the store. It was a night of the full moon and she needed to let her chakra let loose; her body was restless with the need to transform into the guardian. "Krill, I'm going out since its night and I need to let loose…" she muttered in exhaustion. There was only so much chakra her necklace could suppress before her demon side would run her down. Her chakra made her feel exhausted when she had no control over the amount.

Krill frowned but nodded, "You best be careful or you will end up just like the tailed beasts."

Ai nodded and darted outside before drawing blood from her thumb with her teeth and placing it on the gold seal imprinted on the necklace's jewel. A neon blue glow surrounded her being before her body was overwhelmed with pain. The transformation into the demon was extremely painful; her joints had to realign themselves in order to form the front legs of a hawk and the hind legs of a wolf. The bones in her body extended forcing her skin to stretch and crack in drawing blood which formed into white fur along her body. Two of her ribs ripped through her skin to form the wings of the beast; the excess blood became the feathers. The process continued until she was twenty-four feet tall and she was no longer recognizable as Ai. In her place stood a monster that had the head of a fur-covered dragon with wolf ears. Long feathers extended from the top of her head those rose when she felt the need to be a larger threat. The fur son her forearms stopped where her elbows would have been and turned into the texture of the bird limbs. Two black rings adorned the tips of her ears and her long bushy wolf tail.

Ai let her body cloak itself in the moonlight before flying around the village in case she spotted any danger; it was the only thing she could do to ease her mind of the pain.

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I hope the chapter was very appealing. I have an idea of who I'm going to pair Ai up with unless I decide to let her die at the end of the story; dunno but I'm still debating on making it a tragedy. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four is now posted! I hope you guys enjoy it! I do not own Naruto.

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Ai had come home around five in the morning after resealing her chakra; her body was covered in dry blood and she looked absolutely worn out. Krill frowned at her run down appearance. He loved to irritate Ai but he hated seeing her after a night as that monster. "You look terrible," Krill said as he followed Ai to her room, "Please tell me you're leaving the shop closed today."

Ai nodded before collapsing on a chair, "Rogues are hunting me now along with the Anbu of many villages. Ever since that damn woman sewed the guardian on the quilt the humans are more determined to use me for their own selfish reasons."

Krill growled, "Humans are so disgusting. They have no respect for anything other than themselves; they're fortunate that you even protect them."

"The shinobi world is getting worse…soon there will be no hope for humanity," she winced as she stood. "I need to wash the scent of blood from my skin before the scent leads anyone to my person."

Ai slowly walked to the bathroom while supporting herself along the wall. Her body was still weak from the transformation so movement was a challenge for her. Krill sighed and went downstairs to the counter with the register and lay down next to it. Just because they were closed doesn't mean that people won't try to steal money or goods from the handy store. Krill had overheard Deidara and Sasori talking about the journal that Ai kept on the bookshelf and knew that they would be back or maybe someone else in the same cloak would. He could tell by the cloaks that they were in some form of organization of rogue ninjas and since they showed such interest in the book it would mean the group had something to do with the tailed beasts; Krill was well aware a pair would show up sooner or later. If the organization was as curious or suspicious as he thought then they would most likely get the order to once again come by today.

Krill frowned at the thought of an organization taking Ai for their own use since he was well aware that she was technically a demon. If anyone gained that power and learned of it they would abuse the power.

Hours passed before two familiar cloaks caught Krill's attention and he visibly grimaced. The closer they got to the door the more frustrated Krill became; Ai was in no condition to deal with anyone. Krill darted from the counter back upstairs to the bathroom where Ai was letting herself soak in the jacuzzi-like tub. "We have company," he announced with panic.

Ai tiredly opened her left eye to look at her friend; Krill visibly winced at her exhaustion. "I'm not worried about the situation…" she mumbled.

Krill frowned, "They are wearing the same cloaks as Kisame and Itachi; something is going on and I'm not exactly fond of the situation."

Ai sighed and let the bath drain before putting a bathrobe on; at the moment she could care less about her appearance. With her hair dripping wet she descended the stairs to see two men impatiently waiting by the door. Ai leaned her body against the wall for support as she let the pair in through the glass door, "Ah hello…How can I be of assistance..?"

Krill groaned as he sat down by the registered. Her voice was scratched and she sounded sickly.

"Our leader would like to have a word with you," the taller man said; his green eyes bore into Ai's red ones.

Ai audibly sighed as she stepped away from the door to move towards the counter to support herself better, "I'm not feeling rather well today…if your leader would like to talk soon he would need to travel here; as you can tell I'm in no condition to travel…"

"You're just being a fucking pussy!" the silver haired man snapped.

Krill hissed as the young man, "Don't talk to her so disrespectfully human."

"Krill, relax…" Ai said as she studied the two males standing before her. "Another swordsman…you must be Hidan…"

The masked man's eyes narrowed dangerously, "How do you know his name?"

"His scythe; there is no other like it and its owner that was last reported carrying the scythe was Hidan," Ai said, "And I recognized him from the Bingo Book."

Hidan let out a huge grin, "Here that Kakuzu, she fucking knows her people."

"Shut up, idiot, she just recognized the weapon and your picture; she obviously did appropriate weapon research in order to get into the business," Kakuzu growled.

Krill anxiously cast a glance at Ai, "Are you going to be okay standing right now?"

Ai hesitated before nodding, "I should be fine for now…"

He nodded before looking at the pair of men, "She got an extreme case of food poisoning yesterday; it's gotten to the point where she can hardly stay focused and her body is ready to collapse on her."

"You obviously came here for another reason besides just wanting to take me to your leader; would you happen to want the book as well?" Ai asked.

The atmosphere in the room dramatically changed; tension was now overwhelming the room. "How did you know this was about the book?" Kakuzu asked.

"I could tell by the way Sasori's eyes held suspicion and how you came back the following day," she replied. "I need to sit down…"

Krill immediately stood up and rubbed his head against her arm, "Do you need to go in your room?"

Ai shook her head, "No, take me to the workroom; I promised more of the crystal kunai so the least I can do is continue making them while they are here…"

Krill growled, "That's the last thing you should be doing. Don't forget that there are no more crates downstairs."

"That's because you were a dumbass and blew up all the contents yesterday," Ai reminded him.

He frowned, "I hope you know you just really hurt my feelings…"

"Good; maybe it will teach you not to be a little fucker when my supplies are late coming in," she said before removing a crate lid and taking a gallon jar of the liquidized crystal in her hands; she may be week but she wanted to do something other than be lazy.

Ai carefully held the jar in one arm before descending the stairs into the dark room.

"I'm not comfortable—"

"Just deal with it," she snapped silencing Krill.

Hidan grinned at the two, "If you want I could sacrifice his ass to Jashin."

"Ah Jashinism; a very gruesome religion if I do say so myself," Ai commented sitting herself at her workbench that was still covered in ash.

"What the fuck happened down here?" Hidan questioned.

"If you were listening you would know; her cat blew up the basement pretty much," Kakuzu replied.

Ai ignored their bickering before lighting a match to start a fire to help her shape the crystal kunai. Krill silently watched her work and handed her any tools she needed in the process. Kakuzu walked over to the bookshelf and began reading some of the many history books of the nations.

"Can you make anything else besides fucking kunai?" Hidan asked watching her.

"Yes, I can make any weapon along with trinkets," Ai replied never breaking her concentration.

"What kinds of fucking trinkets?" he questioned watching her cool off the kunai.

The tired silverette held up her necklace for him to look at, "The jewel on the necklace is pure diamond and can seal away chakra leaving no trace of it."

Kakuzu had looked over at the jewel when she mentioned it being a diamond, "Is it valuable?"

Ai looked over at him, "It is indeed; this is the only one of its kind."

"How much would you way it's worth?" Kakuzu asked.

"I'd have to say it's about half a million ryo," Ai replied, "But it's not for sale."

"Do you think you could fucking make me something cool?" Hidan asked.

"It is the least I can do for the inconvenience," she replied, "What did you have in mind? I can alter your Jashinist necklace or maybe make you a kunai that can extract blood or inject poison or other harmful sustenance."

A sadistic grin spread across the Jashinist's face, "Extracting blood would work."

With a nod she grabbed a regular kunai and removed the handle from the blade. Hidan watched with interest as she made a hollow crystal handle to store the blood. "You're pretty fucking skilled for an average person," he said with a grin.

Ai nodded as she drilled a very small tunnel through the tip of kunai until it reached the crystal handle. She then proceeded to weld the two pieces together, "Just let it cool off and it's all yours."

Hidan grin more, "Thanks, bitch."

She just nodded before etching a small symbol on the handle of the kunai before holding it up to my necklace. Ai then bit her thumb to draw blood and ran it over the kunai's symbol. There was a huge chakra spike as chakra was transferred into the kunai. Kakuzu glanced over at me, "I thought you didn't have chakra."

"I never said that; the necklace I'm wearing absorbs all of my chakra so I can avoid being forced into the life of a shinobi," she said continuing the process.

"You're very determined to keep your life to yourself," he mused.

"You have no idea," Krill deadpanned.

"If you want to wait until tomorrow for you to take me to your leader I have a spare room you two can stay in for the night," Ai said with a yawn.

The pair nodded and with that the three headed off to bed.

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I hope you guys liked it. More and more ideas are coming to me for the story so hopefully it will get better. Please Review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello readers! The next chapter is posted and it is a rather long one much to my delight. I do not own Naruto**

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Kakuzu was no fool. He had felt a strong chakra surge leaving the building last night and noticed that Ai's presence was no longer in the house; he was well aware that she had a secret life besides being the shop owner she appeared to be. With a sigh he got out of the comfortable twin sized bed and headed downstairs to see the annoying brown cat sitting by the register. Kakuzu noted that the fur ball looked exhausted from lack of sleep. It was more noticeable when the cat lifted its head to look at him. "Good morning Kakuzu-san, sleep well?" the cat asked.

"Yes; where is the shop owner?" Kakuzu asked.

"Her name is Ai and she is currently in her room-"

"Good morning Kakuzu-san. I trust you slept well?" Ai interrupted Krill before he could finish his sentence.

Kakuzu looked to the bottom of the staircase to see the silver haired girl standing at the bottom and his eyes narrowed at her. Her appearance was nothing short of tired and run down. She had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and an obviously fake smile on her features. "I did. What about you?" he asked.

"The food poisoning kept me up all night long so I didn't sleep good," Ai replied tiredly before unlocking the front door and moving behind the counter.

Krill growled at Ai, "You shouldn't open your store in your condition! You look like you could pass out at any given second!"

"I'm fine no need to worry," Ai said in a hoarse voice.

Krill scratched Ai's arm with a hiss, "Lock that door and get back to bed!"

A growl escaped Ai's mouth, "Mind your own business! I can't go back to bed because I promised I'd go and see their leader today."

"Not in your condition. You can barely hold yourself upright and you can hardly walk," Krill growled.

Ai was about to comment before her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. Krill immediately jumped to the floor and rubbed his head against his human's arm, "Are you okay?"

"You aren't being honest with us Ai. What exactly do you do when you aren't running the store," Kakuzu asked.

"...I guess you could say I'm a bounty hunter..." Ai mumbled.

Kakuzu nodded, "That's what I thought. I knew all that chakra was used for something other than weapons."

Ai sighed and tried to stand up but not succeeding, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to meet up with your leader today..."

"I'll contact him to inform him of the situation," Kakuzu said heading upstairs.

Krill glared at me, "What do you think you're doing? You almost gave us away."

"Well I didn't so just relax..." Ai mumbled.

Krill sighed and walked to the stairs, "I'll be back; I'm going to see if maybe one of the men will carry you to your room so you can rest."

Ai frowned as he left upstairs, _'There is no way I'm going to let one of those two help me to my personal space.'_

With a lot of determination she grabbed hold of the counter and began pulling herself up with all the strength she had left. She winced because of her muscles refusing to work with her; they were still torn. Forcing her limbs to move she finally got herself in a standing position but she was already exhausted. She was already panting from moving herself too much, but she was determined to get herself to her room. Ai put her hands on the wall and began forcing her legs to walk to the stairs.

Krill got to the top of the stairs with the Jashinist in tow and froze when he saw Ai making her way up the stairs with pain evident on her face. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he hissed.

Ai was too concentrated in her new task to answer her furry friend.

"Looks like the bitch doesn't need any help getting up the stairs," Hidan said with a grin.

"That doesn't mean she is well enough to actually make it up the stairs," Krill growled.

Hidan rolled his eyes before stopping right in front of their host, "I suggest you stop where you are bitch."

Ai glared at the man blocking her path, "I'm fine, Hidan, now get out of my way."

Krill frowned at her hoarse voice, "Don't lie."

Hidan picked Ai up and swung her over his shoulder rather harshly causing Ai to hiss in pain. Her ribs were still getting set so the pressure of his shoulder on her lower stomach just below her ribs was not exactly comfortable. "Put me down," Ai growled.

"No the fucking cat said not to let you walk around on your own so I'm fucking listening," Hidan said.

Ai raised an eyebrow, "Something tells me that it was more like an order or a threat that made you listen."

"Shut the fuck up," Hidan said shoving his shoulder into her ribs causing her to yell out in pain from the impact.

Krill growled at Hidan, "Be careful you moron! There is a reason she isn't able to travel or run the store!"

"Don't call me fucking moron you pussy!" Hidan shouted.

Kakuzu came out of his temporary room to find out why his idiot partner was yelling, "Why are you being so noisy?"

"Hidan is intentionally being careless with Ai and is causing her more pain," Krill growled.

"You called me a fucking moron!" Hidan exclaimed.

"Hidan, you are a moron," Kakuzu said before taking Ai away from Hidan carefully, "Where is her room?"

"Two doors down to the right," Krill replied sending a glare in Hidan's direction.

Kakuzu nodded before walking in the direction of her room. When he opened her door's room he was shocked to say the least. She had trinkets made out of gold and silver that were obviously unique to her person; she had wind chimes and dream catchers hanging from the ceiling and gold-lined framing the headrest of her bed. "Got enough decorations?" Kakuzu asked as he put her on the bed.

"No not really," Ai mumbled, "Did you talk to your leader?"

"Yes, he is on his way over with the rest of the Akatsuki. You might as well tell us why exactly you're as injured as you are for being a bounty hunter," Kakuzu said.

Hidan stood in the doorway as Krill jumped to his master's side and curled up instinctively.

"Have you heard of the man named Kenta Yutaka?" Ai asked.

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed, "I certainly do know him; we ended up fighting while I was hunting him for a bounty that's on his head. He almost destroyed me and Hidan during the fight; needless to say that was the only time we fled during battle."

"Fucker is near impossible to kill. Next time we find him though we'll kill that fucker," Hidan said.

Ai chuckled, "You honestly think you can kill him so easily?"

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Krill, can you get me the second Bingo Book made?" the shop owner asked before laying down with her head being supported by the bed rest.

Krill nodded before jumping off of the bed and running downstairs.

"Why do you need that Bingo book?" Kakuzu asked.

"You'll see when I show you," Ai sighed looking at the masked man, "But when I do please don't rush to conclusions."

Kakuzu nodded just as Krill came back with the book held in his mouth. He jumped on the bed and placed the book by Ai, "Here you go."

Ai opened the book to the page with the information on Kenta, "Here you are." She handed the book to the miser.

Kakuzu took it and his eyes widened when he say the same man in the Bingo Book from almost 150 years ago, "How is he still alive?"

"He is immortal. The only way I know how to kill him is to stab him in the heart, but his fighting methods kind of make it impossible to even put a scratch him. I've been hunting him down since the day he showed up in the Bingo Book," Ai said.

"That would mean-"

"Yes, I have been alive for approximately 115 years. Kenta is my older brother," Ai replied.

"How the fucking hell are you immortal?" Hidan asked.

"I think it's safe to say that it's because I was on the end of one of his experiments," she replied.

"So he's like Orochimaru?" Kakuzu asked.

"I guess in a way he is like that snake, "Ai replied, "But his 'experimentation' is more life threatening and inhumane than Orochimaru's."

"I don't want to know how that's fucking possible. So you're one hundred and fucking fifteen years old; how come you only look like you're fucking eighteen?" Hidan said.

"How should I know why I only look like I'm eighteen. Hopefully I will soon be able to kill that ass hole and break this undesirable curse of being immortal," Ai replied as her eyes closed.

Krill growled as the shop bell rang.

"Leader-sama has arrived, " Kakuzu said as he stood up straight.

A venus-flytrap began to emerge from the floor causing Krill to hiss from the sudden intrusion. "Leader-sama is coming to the room. Be ready to answer all his questions," the man said as the trap opened up. Inside was a man that was half black and half white.

Ai cracked an eye open to look at him, "Yes, sir."

The flytrap man looked around the room as he rested his back against the wall farthest from the bed. Not even a minute passed before six people walked into the room. Ai recognized the four men from their previous visits. "Hello Deidara, Kisame, Itachi, and Sasori," Ai greeted.

"You look like shit," Kisame grinned.

Ai smirked tiredly, "I feel like shit."

"Konan, go assist her any way you can," Pein ordered.

The blue haired woman nodded before walking over to Ai, "Where do you hurt?"

Krill growled at the woman, "Don't you dare hurt her or you'll regret it."

Konan looked at the cat, "It is indeed true that you don't have any chakra and yet you can speak English very well; why is that?"

"I just can," the cat replied irritably.

"Krill, relax. I'll be fine," Ai said trying to sooth her friend.

Krill glared at Konan, "...Fine..."

Konan nodded and began healing Ai, "You have quite a few injuries. Where did you get them from."

Ai sighed and told them what she had explained to Kakuzu and Hidan. Pein listened intently as she told them about her dreaded older brother and how she secretly hunts him at night. "Judging by the injuries I'm assuming you fought him last night," the man said. Ai could hear the authority in his voice.

"Yes, and if he hadn't fled the battle I would have killed him. Kenta is a coward and will run from any situation if he feels his life is endangered. I was so close to killing him..." Ai replied with a sighed.

"You should be dead; these injuries you've obtained should have killed you. I've never met anyone who has survived the injuries you have," Konan said.

"I can't die. Trust me I've tried to end my life plenty of times. I stabbed myself and even cut off my own head. As you can see I still live. I've been wanting to die ever since my brother cursed me," the silver haired girl closed her eyes.

"How much do you know about the Sage of Six Paths?" Pein asked.

"I know just about everything about him...He is my Great Grandfather. That book that Sasori found was written by him and he passed it down the family line. My father gave it to me before he died and told me to complete his legacy. I haven't been successful though," she replied.

"So that would explain your knowledge of the Sage," Sasori said looking at the girl intently.

"In my years that I have been alive I've never known an organization that was so interested in the Sage."

"Would you join the Akatsuki to complete his legacy in recreating the ten tailed demon?" Pein asked.

Ai's eyes shot open and she looked at the leader, "That explains why you are so interested...I'll join; however, I do not want to wear the cloak. I will do things at my own pace and I'll mostly focus on killing Kenta Yutaka. I will help you when you wish though."

Pein nodded, "Tomorrow we will head to the base so get your rest. Itachi, Kisame, stay here with Hidan and Kakuzu. You four will escort her to the base tomorrow."

Itachi and Kisame nodded as the others left the home.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. The first half of the story is going to be over soon after Ai's identity is discovered. There is going to be a part two of the story once this one is finished. Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Ai had struggled to not turn into the demon last night. The four ninja were keeping a close eye on here so she didn't want to try anything that would attract too much attention. Krill was feeling under pressure with the Akatsuki's presence so he tried to stay by his human's side at all times.

Kisame was determined to get find out more about Ai so he went to her room and knocked at about six in the morning.

"Enter," the girl's voice rang from the other side of the door.

Kisame grinned and entered the room, "Are you ready to travel to the base?"

Ai looked at the shark man, "All I have left to do is pack some extra clothing." She was currently wearing her night kimono and had just started tying her hair into two buns with the purple ribbon.

"I've never seen you in the outfit before," Kisame noticed.

"I hunt in this outfit," Ai said as she finished, "I figured I should be ready to fight if we got into any trouble."

"Sounds like you enjoy a good fight," he grinned.

The silverette grinned at Kisame, "You have no idea. I normally won't fight unless necessary, but when I do..." An evil smile spread across her face as she licked her lips.

"You sound like Hidan, "he shark remarked.

"Maybe, but he seems like the type who has a big head during battle."

"Yeah he is. He's immortal so he likes to brag about it when he can."

"That would explain his attitude," Ai mumbled before shaking Krill, "Get up lazy cat."

Krill stretched and yawned, "I don't feel like getting up."

"I don't care if you do or don't; we're moving to the hideout today," Ai said throwing a pillow at the cat.

Krill hissed as he jumped, "Bitch..."

"Damn straight; now get your ass up," Ai said as she walked out of the room and down the stairs.

There was nothing left in the shop. The shelves stood emptily in the large space; downstairs looked just as barren. All her supplies were stored in a scroll so she didn't have to make more than one trip. A sigh escaped Ai's mouth as she glanced around; she was indeed going to miss her home. She had lived in this home for nearly ninety years. Itachi stood behind her silently. "You know, you never realize how much you'll miss a home until you leave..." Ai said aloud.

"Hn," was all the Uchiha said.

"All my memories are bound to this small village; it kind of makes me feel like a part of me is leaving as well," Ai frowned

Krill rubbed against Ai's legs while purring, "It will all turn out fine."

Ai sighed but nodded, "Yeah you're right."

"You ready to leave?" Kakuzu asked as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, everything is stored into the scrolls and is placed where it should be," Ai confirmed as she double checked to make sure that all her money from the drawer was gone.

"Alright, then let's start heading out," the masked man said as he head to the door.

Krill jumped onto Ai's shoulder as she followed being the oldest member. She had a feeling in her gut that the journey wasn't going to go as smoothly as she was hoping.

"Hey bitch, why don't you tell us about yourself? We're fucking stuck with you so fucking spill," Hidan said.

"What would you like to know?" Ai asked.

"I don't know just start fucking talking," Hidan replied rolling his eyes.

"Well, my only friend is Krill. I like to make sure I have a decent amount of money in case an emergency comes up and I also like experimenting with new weapons," Ai said.

"Don't tell me all you fucking think about it money..." Hidan groaned.

"Well it is rather important in the world," Ai said knowingly.

"Smart one you are," Kakuzu said.

A growl began rumbling in Kill's throat, "I'm not liking this, something is wrong..."

"What do you mean?" Kisame asked.

"Do you hear that?" Krill asked.

"What are you fucking going on about?! There isn't fucking any noise!" Hidan shouted.

"That's exactly my point! Other than the six of us it is too quiet," Krill growled.

Ai frowned. She hated situations like this and her furry friend did have a point. She looked around her to make sure she didn't miss anything; when she felt a familiar chakra signature she instantly froze and stiffened. "Krill, get off my shoulder now. Things are about to get ugly much to my displeasure," she growled.

Krill nodded and jumped off her shoulder and stood a good distance away from Ai.

"What's going on?" Kisame asked.

"That's what I would fucking like to know!" Hidan shouted.

"Remember how you said you'd be ready the next time you fought Kenta?" Ai asked as she placed her backpack on the ground.

"Yeah, why?" Kakuzu asked.

"He's here," Ai replied; her killer intent was rising by the second.

A maniacal laughter was heard as a man standing at six feet approached. He had wild brown hair and dark, heartless black eyes, "I'm amazed you're still able to walk after that number I did to you the other night!"

Ai let out a dangerous hiss, "You had Nightmare summoned and were too coward to fight me yourself after I almost killed your sorry ass."

Kenta glared at his sister, "I see you made some new friends." A grin spread across his haunting features, "Tell me dear sister, do they know what you really are?"

Itachi glanced at Ai with an emotionless face.

"What do you fucking mean? She's a fucking immortal human," Hidan said.

"Yes, but did she tell you how she came to be immortal?" Kenta asked as he slit his thumb on a kunai; he was getting ready to summon his pet Nightmare. He was truly afraid for his life at the moment.

"She told us she was one of your experiments," Kakuzu said.

"While that is partly true, it isn't the whole truth," Kenta said with a sadistic grin.

Ai threw a few kunai in his direction, "Enough talking; let's get this settled once and for all!"

She then charged at her brother and swung her leg at his head; unfortunately he easily dodged her attack. Punches and kick were being sent from both parties. The amount of lethality kept increasing as the attacks continued coming. "Summoning Jutsu!" Kenta's voice was heard just as Ai was kicked back.

"Shit!" Ai swore, "...Krill, please forgive me for what I'm about to do."

Krill sighed as he looked at the summoning; Nightmare was a twenty- six foot tall shadow dragon. He had eerie green eyes that had a sharp look to them on his head. He was black and looked as if he was turning into a shadow. "I'll forgive you Ai, but don't over work yourself in that form," Krill said.

She nodded, "That's all I needed to hear. Sorry if this takes too long boys, but please bare with me."

Ai then bit into her thumb and ran it over the crest on her necklace. She winced in pain as the transformation took place. The Akatsuki all looked at her in shock.

Itachi looked over at Krill, "What exactly did you not tell us?"

"She is not a tailed beast before you ask. Her brother had taken the chakra of each of the tailed beasts and was injected into her body. The chakra of the tailed beasts gave her the immortality needed to allow Kenta to exchange her heart for a different one. The heart in her body right now is the heart of the monster you see now. The only way she can get rid of this curse is to kill her brother," Krill replied.

"Why would anyone want to curse a member of the family like that?" Kisame asked.

"He was promised world domination and was desperate for attention," Krill replied, "He betrayed his entire family for his own selfish reasons."

The four shinobi turned their attention to the fight that was playing out before them. Ai had Nightmare's neck clamped in her jaws and had it pinned to the earth beneath them. Nightmare roared out in frustration as he tried to break free from Ai's grip. A blast of lightening from Kenta caused the white demon to let go of her pray to dodge the attack. Nightmare took off to the sky with Ai following right behind him; the shadow monster tried to get her away from him by means of fire but she was still hot in pursuit. With a roar of frustration the feared dragon had made a sudden dive to maneuver himself away from the gaining demon; Ai knew what he was doing and extended her hawk like claws and latched onto the dragon's tail before pulling him closer to her.

The weight of an extra person threw Nightmare off balance and allowed Ai to knock him them both back to the ground. As soon as they stopped rolling through the trees the white demon began trying to rip open his jugular.

"She really does love a good fight..." Kisame said before smirking.

"Yes, but not when she has to use this form; if you didn't notice it is a very painful transformation that takes place. Her muscles and bones have to reposition themselves in order to make the body of that demon," Krill said.

A loud snap was heard getting the Akatsuki's attention; Ai had Nightmare's skull in her jaws and had snapped his neck. The white demon dropped the head and turned towards her stunned brother. A snarl ripped through her throat as she began advancing towards Kenta, "It's over."

"Not yet it isn't!" he shouted before disappearing; the coward had fled.

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**I hope this chapter is decent...I had really bad insomnia last night so my brain wasn't fully here when I finished it this morning. Let me know what you think. I do not own Naruto **


	7. Chapter 7

**Next chapter is posted! Ai's short temperdness is shown a lot in this chapter, but it also has some humor to it. I hope that those who have read the story haven't abandoned it. Anyways, I do not own Naruto.**

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A deep growl ripped through my throat from frustration; the bastard fled yet again. "Dammit!" I roared slamming my right hand on the ground causing the earth to shake slightly. I began pacing as I looked at the spot where he disappeared.

"Ai, you need to calm down," Krill growled.

I growled once again before looking at Krill, "You're telling me to calm down when that ass hole tried to jump me mid-day?! Fuck that! That retard needs to fucking die!"

"Ai, think about this logically; he'll probably end up sending something we _don't_ want to fight if we don't get out of here now. If you decide to sit around and groan about how he ran away yet again you'll end up getting us all killed," Krill hissed.

I sighed and turned towards the others and looked down at them, "You're right Krill. Alright boys, hop on; since you've seen me and there is no point in wasting time now so get on my back and tell me which direction to go."

Hidan was the first to get on my back; why he did it in the most painful way possible was beyond me. I growled slightly as his ankles hit my back, "Do you mind?"

Krill gently got on my back, "Be careful you idiot! She still feels her broken bones and all."

Hidan rolled his eyes, "She needs to stop being a fucking pussy."

Kisame chuckled as he got on Ai's back.

Kakuzu followed behind Kisame and Itachi brought up the rear. "If you said that you don't want to draw any unnecessary attention, then why will be flying?" Kisame asked.

"You'll see what I'm gonna do," I said as I spread my wings as I broke out into a run before taking off; my chakra covered my body along with my fellow passengers making us invisible in the light.

The Akatsuki members looked shocked when the chakra engulfed them. Kisame blinked as he looked at the travelers not seeming to notice them, "It's odd, we aren't seen and I oddly feel...safe."

"You are in the most danger when you feel safe," I said. "Now where are we going exactly?"

"Amegakure," Itachi replied.

I nodded before turning Southwest and using my chakra to boost my speed. Krill curled up behind Hidan so the wind wouldn't affect him.

"So how long have you been alive?" Kisame asked Krill.

"I'm not too entirely sure. I know when Ai found me she was eighteen; I can't remember anything before that though...but I feel like I have missing memories from before then," Krill replied.

I felt Itachi's eyes fall onto the back of my head and I sighed, "Krill, I know why you can't remember anything before we met; I wasn't honest with you fully."

"What didn't you tell me?" Krill asked.

"You were once human. More specifically you were the five-year-old brother of a wealthy family before a great tragedy took place; that tragedy changed your sister and almost got you killed," I said.

Krill stared ahead as all his memories came flooding back to him; Kenta was going to turn him into a creature that could destroy an immortal in case Ai's new form wouldn't obey him. Sure enough that was the case and was about to create the ultimate banshee when his sister sealed his soul in the body of a cat along with a portion of hers. The cat looked at me, "Why didn't you inform me of this sooner? I know you did it to protect me, but why didn't you tell me I was human?"

"I had hoped I would have turned you back human a long time ago; I wanted it to be a surprise," I replied.

Kakuzu looked between the two of us, "So you two are actually siblings who are both cursed in some way."

"Yeah, more or less," I replied.

"You both need to grow a fucking set and just fucking get over the damn past," Hidan said slamming his fist onto my back.

I growled and glared at him over my shoulder, "Hidan, you'll regret that when we land."

"Sure I will bitch," Hidan waved his arm dismissively.

I snorted before concentrating on flying. I didn't want to accidently drop my cover and get us in a huge predicament; that would be bad. The rest of the trip was rather quiet much to my pleasure; well, it was quiet other than Hidan's obnoxious snoring. When we got to the Hidden Rain Village I landed on the lake inside the village walls; I couldn't help but notice white paper flowers landing into the lake I was standing on.

"Hey, Itachi, whose jutsu is this? I can sense chakra coming from them," I questioned as I began walking towards the buildings.

"It's Konan's; Leader-sama probably sensed your chakra and wants to know who the intruder is," Itachi replied.

"Where is your base?" I asked.

"It's the tallest building you see," Kisame replied.

I nodded before walking in said direction, "Once you guys are inside I'll show Pein and the others what I am so they won't question how we got here so quickly."

"That might be a good idea," Kakuzu said.

"You guys are too fucking loud; you need to shut the fuck up again," Hidan said groggily.

"Next time don't fall asleep if you're only going to complain about it," Kakuzu snapped.

"Fuck you, Kakuzu! You need to shut your fucking mouth before I kick your ass!" Hidan shouted.

There was an overhang that we were going under and I intentionally slammed the Jashinist into it, "I think we all agree that it is you that needs to shut up." I snorted as he fell off my back from the hard impact; the overhang now had a skull indent on it.

Hidan stood up from the ground while groaning, "Oi, fuck you!"

I continued walking having every intention of leaving him behind, "I think I'm good."

"Hey, get the fuck back here, damn bitch!" Hidan shouted as he began running after me.

"I said you'd regret trying to hurt me, did I not?" I questioned jumping on top of the overhang so I could spot the quickest route to the place.

"Take that path," Itachi said pointing to my left.

I nodded and began heading to the base, "How can you deal with such a moron?"

Kisame chuckled, "That's a good question; how do you handle him, Kakuzu?"

"There isn't a solid way to deal with him. All I do is beat the shit out of him but that leads to him whining even more," the miser replied.

"What he needs is a near-death experience to shut his ass up," I growled.

Kisame laughed, "I'm pretty sure he's had plenty of those."

I raised an eyebrow, "Is he immortal?"

"Yeah, both him and Kakuzu are the Zombie Combo," Kisame grinned.

"Huh, that's rather interesting; here I thought that being immortal was a rare occurrence," I mused as I stopped in front of the headquarters. "Okay, now someone go in and get that pierced ginger out here so I can give him full detail and shit." I disengaged the chakra cloak so I was once again visible to the eye.

"Fuck you, you stupid bitch!" Hidan shouted as he finally caught up to us.

"You deserved the punishment, dumbass," I sweat-dropped.

Itachi had dismounted and went inside Pein while Hidan continued bitching. Never had I thought that anyone could complain more than a three year old child; I was indeed proved wrong. "For God's sake, close your Jashin-damned mouth before I decide to rip your head off and burry it in a fucking twenty foot hole!" I shouted at him.

"You're probably all fucking talk and no show; you fucking talk big and shit but are probably one of those pansy ass people that won't go through with their fucking threat," Hidan said with a smirk.

Before he could process my threatening growl my jaws clamped shut on his arm and ripped it off; I was aiming for his head but he caught on at the last second.

"Ouch! Son of a fucking bitch that fucking hurt! Mother fucker!" Hidan shouted as I spat out his arm.

"Serves you right," I snarled.

"Enough," Pein's voice was heard from behind me.

My growling softened as I turned around to see Pein and the rest of the Akatsuki by the door.

"So you aren't a jinchuriki yet you have the body of an unknown creature," Pein said with his eyes narrowed.

I nodded, "I was an experiment that Kenta made in order to overpower the tailed beasts so he could have absolute control."

"How do I know you aren't lying to me," Pein questioned.

"We both are working to complete the Sage's legacy, why would I?" I asked.

Pein looked at the remaining two getting off of my back before nodding, "Very well." he then headed back inside with Konan in tow.

I looked at the masked man known as Tobi and my eyes narrowed; there was something familiar about his chakra and it made me feel disgusted. I let my body turn back human; I couldn't help but almost smile at Deidara's face as it scrunched up in a disgusted look. Once the transformation was complete I took deep breaths to slow down my breathing and to ease the pain. I absolutely hated the pain that came with being me.

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**I hope you guys liked the chapter; I'm getting back into the fanfiction mood so I hope I'll be able to post more chapters here in the next few weeks. I don't know how I'll be able to handle it with all the stress, but I'll try! Please review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I finally got out of writer's block long enough for this chapter! Took me until yesterday to figure out what to do with this next one, but it finally came to me. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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Not even staying in the Akatsuki base for two weeks and I am already fed up with half of the members. I finally recognized Tobi's chakra as that bastard Obito; I was hoping to avoid him once Madara had finally died, but I was completely mistaken. I groaned in frustration as I continued working on creating deadly weapons along with repairing any broken or busted weapons due to recklessness. The only good think that has happened recently would be the ending of the full moon; I no longer had to worry about completely losing control of the chakra. For some reason when the moon is full the monster's chakra in me increases in power and that's what causes the unnecessary painful transformation. "Hey, Ai, do you have any more of that explosive clay, yeah?" I heard Deidara ask from outside my door.

I snapped the senbon needle I was tweaking in my hand and groaned, "I already told you I gave you the last of it two days ago."

"What, yeah?! You did not tell me that, un!" he shouted opening the door.

I slammed my head on my desk, "That's because you don't know how to listen!"

I saw Sasori come up behind Deidara; like usual the puppet master was in his puppet, hidden from the rest of us members. "Be quiet brat, she did tell you; however, you were too busy running your mouth to actually listen to her," Sasori said.

Deidara scowled at Sasori but refrained from saying anything further. Krill jumped onto my worktable as I sighed. "Give her a break, Deidara; this whole time she hasn't once failed at completing any tasks given to her. For the past week it's been a huge, non-stop pile up," Krill said looking at my hands.

Only then did I actually notice how scratched up they were; how funny. I rolled my eyes at my cat's statement, "It doesn't bother me, Krill, now relax. Why don't you go play for a while and relax for a bit?"

Krill sighed before sitting down and curling his tail around his legs, "No, you need to take a short break."

"Brat, I'm supposed to tell you that Leader-sama wishes to see the two of us," Sasori said.

Deidara rolled his eyes but followed the puppet master out of my room. I sighed as I pulled out another senbon needle and began tweaking with it. I wanted to make a senbon that could electrocute the victim upon impact without the use of a tag, but so far it's been proven worthless. "I wasn't trying to aggravate you, Ai; I was just merely saying you've been working for a week straight without rest," krill said.

"I can go three weeks without sleep if I truly wanted to..." I replied. "Now let me be for a bit; I must concentrate."

With a sigh the cat jumped off of my table and walked out the door. I carefully studied the needle in my hand; it was important for me to know everything about it as I could. In order for the lightning attribute to work I had to know the best way and the best area to place the additional jutsu. With a sigh placed the needle down and ran my fingers through my hair, _'This just isn't going to bloody work...Where in the world am I going to find the perfect place on a needle to transfer any chakra onto the needle in order to complete it..?'_

I heard a knock on the already opened door and I groaned, "Deidara, if I have to tell you one more time that I gave you the last of my clay I'll beat the crap out of you."

"It's a good thing I'm not Deidara then," I heard an amused voice say.

I blinked then looked at my door to see Kakuzu leaning against the door, "Oh...hello, Kakuzu."

He pushed himself off of the door and walked over to my desk, "Krill said you were stressed about something having to do with weapons."

"Yeah, I'm wanting to add a bit of a shock to the senbon needles to increase their chance of killing, but I can't figure out a way to do it without throwing the needle completely out of balance or breaking the damn thing," I replied.

"I'm sure you can figure it out; you've rigged everything else so far with some form of jutsu," Kakuzu mentioned.

"While this is true, I believe I have finally reached my limit of weapon making; doesn't help I've been having to make repairs on everything for the past week so I never have time to actually make anything worth calling a masterpiece," I said.

"Oi, bitch, I need you to fucking get me some more of the damn kunai, I-what the fuck are you doing in here, Kakuzu?" I heard Hidan ask.

"He heard I was having trouble with something and I'm pretty sure he wanted to get away from your loud mouth," I said yet again breaking the senbon. "Dammit!"

Hidan began laughing because of my mistake, "You dumb ass bitch!"

I glared at him, "You know what? I'm trying to make something deadly out of this senbon needle and once I do, I'm going to torture the shit out of you with it just because you piss me off!"

"As if that could fucking happen. You're too fucking busy to actually complete fucking anything right now, so how the fuck do you expect to make something such as that?" Hidan asked.

"I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I will; once it's complete you'll regret ever insult that came out of that damned mouth of yours," I snapped.

"Hidan, just get what you came in here for and leave," Kakuzu said glaring at his partner.

"Damn, it's fucking weird to see you fucking sticking up for people," Hidan remarked going to the kunai storage and grabbing what he needed.

"I'm not sticking up for anyone, your mouth is just getting on my nerves," Kakuzu replied glaring at his partner.

"What the fuck ever," Hidan said leaving my room.

I immediately began working on the senbon; I was determined to shock the crap out of that worthless son of a bitch. Kakuzu saw the determination obviously since I heard him actually chuckle some. "You must really hate Hidan," he remarked.

"That ass hole gets on my nerves and besides, I made a promise; I have never failed to keep any of my promises as of yet," I replied.

And with that Kakuzu let me be so I could find a way to get revenge on that fucker known as Hidan.

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**I hope you liked the chapter. I know Kakuzu is a little out of character, but bare with me. I should be able to get the next chapter out to you guys shortly, so no worries~! Please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

_I finally got around to update this story! So sorry it took so long and I'm completely to blame. Now this is pretty much a filler chapter but it's semi-important for future chapters._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

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_Snap!_ I growled in frustration as I broke yet another senbon needle. It had been approximately two days since I told Hidan that I would make it work and I still haven't come up with an idea to prevent the thing from breaking as of yet. With the exception of Pein and Konan, all of the Akatsuki members were out on missions so I wasn't being pushed at a time-limit at all. Krill was lazily laying on the floor resting his tired eyes. I groaned before throwing the broken needle on the floor. "Krill, this is hopeless; maybe I should give up..." I said with a sigh.

"You give up and you'll only give Hidan something to pick on you for," the brown cat said cracking his right eye.

"I suppose you're right...What do you suggest I do? I've tried just about everything that came to mind and it is refusing to work," I pointed out.

Krill had a thoughtful expression, "While this is true, you should try to make the senbon needle much like you do your kunai; make the senbon needles with the lightning jutsu at either end of the needle."

I blinked before jumping up and pretty much tackling my friend, "Krill, you're a genius! I don't know why I didn't think of that before! How do you suggest I shape the weapon and all?"

"You'll figure it out since I gave you a hint now," he said with a purr of satisfaction.

I nodded and immediately went back to my desk and set to work. I melted a senbon needle and poured half of the liquefied metal into a senbon needle mold I had. I then added a few drops of my blood into either end of the needle before pouring the rest of the liquid into the mold. Using my clamp tool, I picked up the cooling needle and began to shape it skillfully. Once the needle was shaped and cooled completely, I carefully etched the kanji for lightning on one of the tips, sliced my thumb, and ran the blood over the kanji. Holding my necklace to the needle I felt the chakra running through the needle; with a grin I tossed the needle at an old lamp and it caused the thing to flicker before blowing the bulb. I blinked before laughing lightly, "I did it; I can't believe I finally did it!"

Krill smiled at me, "Good, now you can attack Hidan for being an ass when he comes through the door."

"That's a great idea," I smirked grabbing the needle and running up the stairs into the living room.

Now, as to why I wasn't hurt by the shock-filled needle is simply because it only affects the person who ends up being punctured by the needle. And I added my blood into the needle just to be sure it would work; much to my pleasure it did indeed work. I sat on the couch and carefully twirled the needle in hand. I was ready to kill a Jashinist. "I'm a little surprised to see you out of your room," I heard the only other female in the base remark.

I turned my head and saw Konan, "I finally finished what I was working on; Hidan is going to pay for every insult towards me that has ever came out of his mouth."

A ghost of a smile formed on her lips, "You don't seem too fond of him."

"Of course not; the little shit has no respect. Besides, this gives me an excuse to torture him while seeing the results of my work. In my opinion it can't get any better than that," I remarked looking at my senbon needle.

The bluette nodded in understanding, "Leader-sama wishes to see you."

I sighed before getting up and following Konan to Pein's office. Once the door was shut and I was in the middle of the floor I bowed respectively, "Hello, Leader-sama."

"Ai, I'm going to be sending each of the members out soon to retrieve the tailed beasts; I want you to guide them when you can and also give the individual groups any necessary information and distinct details as you can. I want things to go smoothly without any casualties," he said as his Rinnegan eyes bore into mine.

"I'll do what I can, but I can't be at two places at once," I answered. "Also, the second that masked bastard known as 'Tobi' decides to order me around you can kiss me goodbye; I want nothing to do with that man's plans..."

Pein's eyes narrowed, "What do you know of his plans?"

"You forget I've lived for years; I was originally made to help guide him through his goal, but I refuse," I said narrowing my eyes right back. "I'll help you, Pein, but not him."

"You are very loyal," Konan remarked.

I looked over at the bluette, "Besides Krill, this is my only other purpose now; I'll do what I must."

Pein nodded, "Very well; you are dismissed."

I nodded before leaving the room and made my way sneakily to the living room since I heard none other than the obnoxious Jashinist cussing at Kakuzu. The second he came into my view I threw the weapon and struck him in the side causing his body to shake and tremble from the electricity in the needle. I grinned as I watched his knees buckle and his body tremor from the jolts running through his body. "Ouch! HOLY FUCK!" the silver haired Jashinist exclaimed unable to remove the senbon from his side since he couldn't stop twitching.

Kakuzu looked at his partner with amusement before looking at me, "It seems you were successful in completing your weapon."

"Yeah, it took me a bit but I finally got it down," I replied removing the senbon needle from Hidan's side. "Alright Hidan, I want you to apologize to me about everything that has come out of that wretched mouth of yours."

"Fuck that! You don't deserve any kind of apology, you damn bitch!" Hidan exclaimed glaring daggers at me.

I shrugged before driving the needle into his thigh and glaring daggers at him, "I'm not going to take this out until you apologize for that foul mouth of yours and for the extra pain you caused me from your carelessness..."

He once again shouted in pain as his body spasms didn't cease for a slight moment, "Fuck you, fucking whore! I will sacrifice your ass to Jashin if it's the last fucking thing I do!"

I kicked his head, "I'm not taking it out until you fucking apologize!"

"I'm not apologizing for shit! You fucking deserved every bit of you damn punishment!" Hidan said between gasps of breath; it was messing with his nervous system.

A sneer made its way onto my lips, "Are you really in the position to make threats towards me?"

The silver haired Jashinist's glare increased ten-fold and if he had the willpower then I would be in flames right now. "I will never apologize to a heathen, cock-sucking bitch!"

"You shit-infested, anarchistic brain dead self-absorbed hog humping dickwad!" I shouted kicking the needle in deeper and grabbing hold of his hair.

The idiot had the brain capacity to look shocked by my insult. He grabbed hold of my wrist to try to make me let go of his hair. "Let the fuck go!" he shouted.

"Not until you apologize!" I shouted back.

"Alright, I'm fucking sorry!" he gave in.

I smirked as I let go of his hair and removed the needle from his thigh. After a minute his body finally stopped trembling. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?" I asked.

Hidan glared and started to get up but fell back down; his nerves were still affected from the long period of being electrocuted. "I don't know what makes you so dumb, but it really works," I said. "Everyone knows that after a long period of time of being hit by some form of electricity that your body may take a while to recover."

"Fuck you, stupid bitch!" Hidan shouted.

Kakuzu's hand collided with Hidan's head, "Shut up, moron; I'm tired of hearing your voice."

"This is fucking bullshit! I'm one of the newest members besides that retarded tag-along Tobi and I'm stuck with a fucking heathen bastard who is obsessed with money and has anger issues," the Jashinist complained.

I instantly became curious, "You're new?"

"Unfortunately; one of my first fucking missions was to inspect your damn store and bring you back for questioning," Hidan replied rubbing his now injured head.

"I thought you would have been here for a while..." I said cleaning off the needle with the black shirt I was wearing.

Hidan rolled his eyes and was about to say something before Konan entered the main room. "Pein-sama wishes to see you two now," Konan remarked before leaving once again.

The Jashinist groaned before he and Kakuzu made their way to Leader's office. I smiled some as I caught a quick glance towards me made by none other than the miser. I made my way back down to my workshop and put the needle away before resting my head on my crossed arms on the table; I could use a nap.

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_I was surprised I was able to update this story honestly because I'm sick and it's currently hard to concentrate, but oh well. I will be working on all more stories so I don't have a set time as to when the chapters are updated. I guess you can say they're spontaneous when they happen. Please review and give me your thoughts on this story^^_


	10. Chapter 10

_I guess you can say that the Shippuden chapters start now. The Akatsuki are all hunting for the Jinchuuriki and shit is going down :O_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

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I woke to dead silence. I sat up from my desk in confusion and looked around my room; I blinked as I felt something fall off of my shoulders. I looked behind me and saw my bed's blanket. This confused me more so then I was; I was pretty sure that I didn't have the blanket when I crashed. "Kakuzu came down to talk to you and put the blanket around you since you were shivering," I heard Krill say.

Since an explanation was needed I looked over to my bed where Krill was resting. "Kakuzu normally doesn't do that stuff for people..." I remarked.

"While this is true, he thinks highly of you; he appreciates your wit towards Hidan," the cat said stretching. "In short you have his attention."

I sighed and stood up, "Know why it's so quiet?"

Krill nodded, "They were sent out to collect bounties and then go after the two-tails."

I felt my body stiffen, "I hadn't realized Pein meant that soon."

"Yeah, apparently he also contacted the other members and told them to set the plans into motion. Leader-sama also asked me to tell you to set out and gather as much information as you can about the shinobi world," the cat replied.

With a frown I got up and walked over to Krill, "You won't be able to come with me, will you?"

Krill shook his head, "No, I must stay here."

I nodded before getting up and heading to the base exit to find Pein and Konan waiting for me. I bowed in respect, "Leader-sama."

"You will help the others along the way, but be sure to remain unseen by any shinobi," Pein ordered.

"Of course; if anything I'll just do what I do best," I mentioned before exiting the base and set out on my way.

For those who still don't know what to think of me I'm not exactly fond of traveling alone as a human. The reason I'm not turning into my other form would be because if I force myself into it when I don't feel the need it can cause excess pain that wasn't necessary. I glared daggers into the ground as I thought about the situation I was currently in; it wasn't the best situation but I didn't necessarily have a say so. I'm just grateful that Obito wasn't the one trying to control me as of right now. Regardless of what that bastard Madara ordered me to do I made my own decision to completely disregard the prick going by the alias 'Tobi'.

I continued traveling at blinding speeds through Ame until I reached Fire Country. Considering both countries were close by one another it was a fairly quick trip. Well, for me anyways. I needed to gather information on the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki. According to Itachi, the brat was from none other than Konoha. With destination in mind I continued traveling until I was twenty feet away from the gates. I knew better than to stand out on the road, so I was hiding in the nearby trees. I kept my ears sharp in case I missed any information related to the kid. Unfortunately, nothing came up in the two hours I sat and waited. Sure shinobi came to and from the village, but the Kyuubi brat was never mentioned.

I sighed in irritation as nightfall came. Not wanting to wait any longer at the gate I did a dangerous move: I went around the gate and entered the village unseen. I hid between two homes and glanced around. I was well aware that just because I was successful didn't mean I was safe. I still could have caused suspicion. I traveled through the dead quiet shadows on the streets to stay out of sight. I was right about causing suspicion because a few doors opened up and residents poked their heads out to scan the area around them. I jumped on the rooftops as silently as I could to hide from the people checking the streets to see who was out this late into the night. However, I failed to recognize a shinobi standing behind me. "Considering you didn't enter through the gates and that you're sneaking your way around, you must be planning something, " he said. I knew that voice very well from the time before the incident with Obito.

"It's been a long time, Kakashi," I remarked turning around to see him.

Now, I knew this man before now only because I was helping forge weapons for Konoha during the fight with the Iwa Ninja back when Minato was the Hokage. I stayed in the village and actually helped Kakashi figure out how to develop what he called Chidori. Said Jonin's eyes went wide as he looked me over, "Ai..?"

I nodded, "In the flesh. No need to act so surprised; also, I'm not planning anything, it's more like I wanted to see the village without my presence being exposed."

"You haven't aged a day since we last met," Kakashi remarked as he visibly relaxed some.

This was the point where I was grateful that I refused to wear the Akatsuki cloak or I would be screwed over for sure. "You were so young then. How have things been since then? Still the cocky, self-absorbed boy, or have you grown up?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Things have definitely changed since then," Kakashi dead-panned. "Still making weapons?"

I smirked, "More than I should be; I recently made a senbon needle that can electrocute the target"

"Your weapons keep getting more and more deadly," he sighed.

"You have no idea," I remarked.

"So, since your here why don't I take you to the Hokage tower and I'll show you around afterwards?" the masked man suggested.

I had a feeling he wanted to see if what I had said was indeed true so I was well aware that I couldn't just decline. "Who is the new Hokage?" I asked.

"The Hokage happens to be one of the three Legendary Sanins," he replied.

"Really? Well it better be Tsunade instead of Orochimaru or Jiraiya. Both would lead this country to disaster, but Jiraiya wouldn't realized he did until it was too late; Orochimaru on the other hand would purposely lead the village to destruction," I stated.

Kakashi smiled a bit, "Yes, it is Tsunade. They asked Jiraiya first though."

"This is the reason I stay out of politics..." I sighed. "I would love to see the Hokage, but wouldn't she be busy with paperwork?"

"She is busy, but you did just randomly enter the village," Kakashi said.

"Maybe so, but I'm not going to intrude on the Hokage; would you like to catch up?" I asked taking a seat on the roof.

The Jonin sighed before leaning against the railing on the building we were on, "Where did you go after the war?"

"I went back to my small home near the Cloud Village; my business boomed after the war and I seemed to sell the most over there then I did in this area," I answered.

"Isn't that where the rumors of the Guardian are?" he asked.

_'So the rumors did reach this far...'_ I thought before answering. "Yes; thanks to the Guardian our small town is prosperous and we are free from any form of danger."

"I hear that someone had actually seen its shape."

I nodded, "Yeah and that resulted in people actually starting to hunt for it now. It may have brought more business for everyone there, but Anbu, Rogues, Shinobi, and even some Village Counselors have come asking around for the whereabouts of the creature."

A stern look came over Kakashi's face it honestly made me worry slightly. "What..?" I asked nervously.

"Have any of the Rogues come in dressed in black cloaks with red clouds?" he asked.

"Yes, now that you mention it. Itachi Uchiha came through with another and asked for kunai and weapons; said they needed some supplies they did. Once I gave them what they needed they left," I replied. I was telling the truth but not the whole truth.

"You didn't report them?!" Kakashi accused.

My eyes narrowed, "The village I live in isn't like any of the nations. Peace between the villagers and the rogues are indeed rare, but in my village we don't think of them as rogues. They are still humans who had a way of life that no one agreed with. Unfortunately some of the villages are actually the cause of why some of the ex-Nins are Rogues; there is nothing that can change the fact that we are known to welcome all who need food and a place to stay. For years we've been this way and nothing has changed. Some are actually misunderstood and are good company."

Tension was building between us. "If you are helping rogue ninjas then that makes you the enemy," he said.

I laughed dryly, "You see, that's exactly why I don't tie myself down to villages and rogues are labeled as they are; just because they do what they believe is right they are criticized and judged before they have a chance to explain or defend themselves. If that's the way it's going to be, then Kakashi, may we someday meet on better terms."

With that said I darted away from the village and hid in the trees before he had time to process what just happened.

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_I hope you liked this semi-filler chapter. Once again work is waiting for me so I couldn't work on this longer. Now to make things more interesting should I do a time skip for when Sasori and Deidara have already caught Gaara or draw things out a bit longer? Let me know please my lovelies!_


	11. Chapter 11

_This chapter is..._interesting_ to say the least. I won't be updating nearly as much compared to what I used to do, but I will do my best to at least try. Most of this content is filler stuff but has some importance regarding Ai's jutsu ability. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

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After a few days of hounding around the village I began going away from Fire Country. Deidara and Sasori were heading to Suna to capture the one tailed Jinchuuriki. According to a reliable source of mine they would be reaching their destination later tonight. I was about to leave the vicinity when screeching caught my attention. I looked up and saw black creatures with short limbs and a lizard-like bodies; despite their limbs they were about ten feet tall when standing. Their wings were similar to a black dragon's, strong, webbed, and pure black. The creatures' mouths were wide, their jaws and skin crevice reaching the base of the neck. Sharp, pointy teeth rested on their red gums. Their eyes were an eerie, pupiless white. I recognized these creatures as Fire Lizards. I got in a defensive position and prepared for the worst. However, nothing happened.

The Fire Lizards flew past me and continued Northeast; I found this odd considering my brother controlled them. I felt like something was off so I decided to silently follow the flock. Every time I came across these creatures I had fought with them; this has never happened and it got me worried. Kenta was planning something and I wanted to know what it was. I continued to follow the group and noticed we crossed Yu Country and we kept on traveling. The terrain began to look more familiar as we continued on and I grew more anxious; we were heading for Lightning Country. Along the journey the Fire Lizards had caught onto me following them and had sped to incredible speeds and pulled ahead of me. With the suspected destination in mind I continued on my way. When I arrived I hated the sight and myself more than ever.

I was back in my home town and I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. The lizards showed no mercy on this defenseless town and I wasn't here to protect them. I hadn't realized how far behind I fell until now. Every building was either smoking or still burning to the ground Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I saw the villagers' bodies laying lifeless on the ground. I clenched my fists before running through to spot anyone still alive. I have known each and every one of the people here for at least thirty years and were the closest thing to a family that I had; I couldn't lose them. After searching around I finally accepted the fact that my old friends were now at peace. Cackling made my head snap to my old store that had burned down. Kenta was standing triumphantly above the ruble with a satisfied, sadistic grin across his face. "Why the towns' people?! They were innocent and had nothing to do with either of us!" I shouted in pure rage.

"Ah, but they did. If you don't recall they celebrated your damn protection and whether you admit it or not you had grown very attached to the humans. I simply just made things a little easier for you since you like to be alone anyways," Kenta sneered.

I glared at him before a growl ripped through my throat, "One of these days you will regret everything you've done and I will be the one to make sure that happens."

Something seemed to say 'I'm joking' because he began cracking up, "You honestly think you can make me regret any of my decisions?! Thanks to that Madara asking me to create you I was able to become immortal and now I'm practically well known throughout the entire world and I'm the most feared being. Demons, creations, and even your natural enemy obey me without hesitation and you think you will make me regret?!"

His eye sockets looked deeper than they were since his back was facing the full moon. "Trust me, dear sister, there is nothing like hearing the screams of the people closest to a freak in the dead of night and hearing them beg for the 'guardian' to come and save them! It's pure ecstasy!" he exclaimed.

My glare hardened before I bit my thumb, "Unfortunately for you, you picked a fight with this _freak_ on the wrong night; you forget that my power and strength increase when there is a full moon. You may have been successful with pissing me off and hurting me emotionally, but you didn't think this plan through completely and blindly went forward with it. You foolishly challenged me without second thoughts and now you have to face my wrath which decreases my usual choice to be careful; you know perfectly well that pissing me off and picking a fight with me during this type of night normally ends with you running away nearly dead!" After that was said I slid my bloodied thumb over the gold crest on my necklace's jewel and I had transformed.

Kenta still looked slightly shocked about the fact that he indeed didn't fully think things through, but once he saw me charging at him he began dodging my snapping jaws and my claws I was trying to slash him with. Shrieking from the Fire Lizards made me split my attention between the two as I leaped out of the way just as one of them spit a fire ball at my person. My jaws clamped shut on one of the lizards that flew a little too close and I ducked another fire attack. I dropped the large lizard in my mouth as I roared in pain from an attack from behind. I used my chakra-filled tail and smacked the ground causing it to crack and crumble around the fire-breathers and forcing them to fly into the air. I spread my wings and jumped into the air before rapidly spinning as I forced my chakra outward to form a deadly chakra tornado. A few of the creatures didn't have time to avoid the path of the monstrous attack and resulted in them being torn apart from the sudden force of energy. As soon as the tornado broke apart I swiftly flew to the nearest creature and crushed its thighs in my mouth since I didn't have access to the fleeing creature's head. It screeched in pain before digging its claws into my skull to force me to let go; a growl ripped through my throat before I let go and shot a beam of silver chakra at the creature and successfully killing it.

I looked around at the growing number of the lizards and knew that retreating was my only option unless I wanted to suffer from severe damage. As if fate decided it agreed, Pein's voice rang loud and clear inside my head, _"We have started the sealing and you ignored me the first time; you need to report."_

"Give me a damn minute," I growled in response.

The reason Pein can communicate with me like he can with the other members is because I had allowed him to give me an ear-piercing similar to an industrial piercing that had the same effects that the Akatsuki rings had. The bar was in my right ear and extended from the top cartilage to my ear-lobe. I added a bit of a twist so that it grew when I transformed instead of it ripping through my ear. _"Hurry up,"_ he instructed.

I huffed in irritation before letting my chakra cloak and hide me from the Fire Lizards and I left the fight that had taken place. I was more than aggravated that Kenta had fled even before I got to land a blow. Once I was a safe distance away from my old village and from the danger I sat down near a riverbank and concentrated my chakra into my earring. I soon found my hologram demon form looking around at the other members. "Took you fucking long enough!" I heard Hidan shout.

I growled as my fur bristled, "I'm sorry, I was fucking under attack!"

"Enough!" Pein demanded.

My growling softened, but I was still glaring at Hidan; fucker was going to get it sooner or later from me. "Ai, have you found anything out?" Pein asked with authority.

I snorted, "The nin-tailed Jinchuuriki had been away for about two years and the two-tailed Jinchuuriki is in Lightning Country. I would have gotten more if Kenta hadn't decided to ambush me."

"You should always be prepared," I heard Sasori said.

I glared at the puppet master, "I hadn't expected him to set me up indirectly; he normally has a pattern and yet after ninety or so years he finally broke the pattern."

"Had he always been predictable, yeah?" Deidara asked.

I looked over at the bomber and was about to reply when I noticed something and my eyes narrowed, "Your left arm is missing."

"Like you, the brat wasn't prepared; the Jinchuuriki was able to take his arm," Sasori said.

My eyes wondered to the human that was currently having the Jinchuuriki being extracted, "How long have you guys been doing this?"

"Almost three days," Pein answered. "These two didn't cover their tracks well and were being followed. Itachi and Kisame delayed them enough for now. Zetsu, dispose of the two used for the Shouten Jutsu."

"Understood," Zetsu replied.

"Itachi, how many are there and who are they?" Pein demanded.

"From Konoha, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno, and the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. Also, with an adviser from the sand, Chiyo, they make up a four-person party," Itachi replied.

"Almost finished," Pein remarked.

I thought for a moment before looking over to Deidara and Sasori, " I'll be making my way to you. I'm getting a bad feeling about this and I feel like things will go off course here shortly."

I then released the jutsu and once again began making my journey, however, this time I was looking for the location of the two artists.

* * *

_Okay, if you're wondering how or thinking it's a bit Mary-Sue for Ai to be able to create natural disasters, allow me to explain. In the manga and anime, it talks about how Kurama could create tidal waves and earthquakes with his tails and I did some research on it. I figured since the tailed beasts have this ability and Ai's demon is a mixture of all their chakra I thought the attacks were fitting.  
On a random note, my cold is both getting better and worse if that makes any sense what-so-ever. Anyways my lovelies, please review~_


	12. Chapter 12

_I finally got around to finish up this chapter. I got into a huge 'Big Bang Theory' mood and began to watch the first season this weekend. Also it was my older brother's birthday and it was necessary to watch 'Iron Man 3' on Monday. Great movie by the way._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

* * *

I knew I needed to go and help Deidara and Sasori, but I didn't have a clue where they would be. I had a feeling that things would turn out for the worst if I didn't interfere with the up-coming fight. I growled in frustration as I flew over the earth with my cloaked body. The feeling in the pit of my stomach never went away as I continued to travel to the general location of one of the many sealing sites. The scent of poison caught my attention after I crossed into the border of fire and I immediately flew in the direction it was coming from; I recognized that scent as Sasori's. Pretty soon I saw tons of puppets littering the ground with Sasori and a pink haired brat in the midst of them. Sasori was holding a sword that was in the Leaf Chuunin's side while an elder sat behind the brat. The old hag's fingers twitched and two puppets began flying towards Sasori. Without second thoughts I flew down and destroyed the puppets; the startled shinobi all looked in the area in utter shock before I allowed myself to be visible.

I walked next to Sasori and growled at him, "Let go of the sword before I clamp my jaws shut on your arm."

Sasori scowled, but complied.

"Y-You're the guardian..!" the elder said in complete shock.

My growl softened before nodding in confirmation, "Yes...I am called 'the guardian' by you humans..."

The pink haired brat fell to the ground from blood-loss, and I'm pretty sure that the poison has affected her as well. "Sakura!" the hag shouted before starting to heal her while removing the sword.

"Sasori, you weren't prepared and nearly got killed," I growled once I lowered my head so we were eye to eye. "You know for a fact if I hadn't jumped in to save your sorry ass you would be dead."

Sasori's eyes narrowed and was about to reply until the sword that was in the girl known as Sakura was thrown to the side. The old hag continued trying to save her. "It's pointless; I hit a vital spot," the puppet master said. "Even without poison she'll be dead soon enough. There's too much blood loss. Since you're a medical ninja too I aimed for somewhere that can't be treated easily."

"Hm...I have already stopped emergency medical treatment," the elder remarked, "What I am doing now is not medical ninjutsu. I am giving my own life energy; a Tensei Ninjutsu."

"So you're pretty much using your life energy," I remarked.

Sasori scoffed, "Pathetic; when did you start getting senile, Grandma?"

Sakura started to get up and a look of confusion overcame Sasori's face, "That's odd, from that Tensei Ninjutsu doesn't the jutsu user die from giving up their life to a dead person?"

"Sakura received a fatal wound, but she didn't die so I also came to this level," Chiyo remarked.

The pink haired girl got up and began running in this direction; I jumped in front of Sasori and snarled at Sakura causing her to stop. "You aren't going to continue this," I threatened.

Sakura glared but didn't dare move. "Since you would have defeated me if not for my friend here I will tell you about Orochimaru. Go to the Tenchi Bridge in the Grass Village; at noon, ten days from now. I have a spy in Orochimaru's subordinates I am supposed to meet with him there," Sasori said.

I snorted and squatted low to the ground so it was easier for Sasori to get on my back. "Sasori, we need to get Deidara; this mission isn't successful and you know it to be true," I remarked looking at him.

Sasori nodded before jumping on my back, "You know where to find the brat?"

"No, but it shouldn't be too hard considering he reeks of clay and explosives are his specialty," I said standing straight and unfolding my wings.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Sakura exclaimed.

My gaze shifted to the pink haired kunoichi, "Listen, Sakura, take the information Sasori gave you and use it to do what you need to do; you're pointlessly trying to fight a battle you cannot win now that I'm involved. If you don't heed my warning and continue this fiasco then I will not hesitate to kill you. You may think Sasori is a monster for doing what he does, but you didn't consider what had made him this way. Sure it was optional for him to decide to make human puppets, but his shinobi way of thinking was enforced by the cruel teachings of the Hidden Sand Village. He wanted to pursue his art and abandoned the village to do his own thing. He is a criminal due to what the counselors say and because no one can understand that you turn up how you're raised. Sakura, if you were born into a poor family and had to steal food, kill people for their money, steel clothes, you would then understand why I believe it to be cruel that the current rogues are judged."

Sakura looked taken aback with my words before finally speaking, "Why help the Akatsuki?"

"I'm helping them because I was asked to complete a legacy and for other personal reasons. Like you they have their goals, dreams, and some just want a place to belong in the world that doesn't hold deception. I'm protecting the hope that they have the right to hold on to," I answered before sprinting and taking off.

I ignored the burning sensation that was running across my back due to the fire ball. I scanned the area and groaned in frustration as I noticed that the Kyuubi container had red bubbles surrounding him and forming a tail. My eyes narrowed as I swooped down and landed before him and roaring. **"Enough, Kurama!"** I ordered with a snarl. **"Continue to try to take over this child's body and I **_**will**_** make you regret it!"**

The two tails that were once formed on the child disappeared and my growl softened. "You can communicate with the demons?" Sasori asked.

"There was more to this curse than just immortality..." I answered.

Kakashi looked shocked at the sight of me and more-so when he saw Sasori seated on my back. I ignored this and looked to Naruto, "Listen, boy, don't let your emotions get a hold of you like that; doing so makes it easier for Kurama to take control. He is still pissed about being used to destroy Konoha and wants to destroy the one who made him look like a blood-thirsty idiot; however, he will do so any means necessary which will result in total destruction. Don't use him in any of your fights."

"Y-you're the guardian..." Kakashi remarked as Sakura and Chiyo caught up.

"Yes, we've established this; Deidara, get over here," I ordered with a growl.

Without questioning the blonde bomber came out of the bushes and got on my back, "What took you so long to get here, yeah?"

"Looks like you were once again unprepared, brat," Sasori said.

I gave them a look over my shoulder that said 'shut it' before turning my attention back over to the small group, "You may try to stop us, but we're leaving. I do, however, wish to congratulate your little group because if I hadn't been involved you would have been successful in killing them, I guarantee it. Do not question why I am helping them for Sakura knows the answer." I then let my chakra cloak the two artists and me before taking off.

"I see you lost your other arm, Deidara," I mused.

"He opened up a dimension, yeah! I wasn't expecting that, un!" he replied.

"We need to report to leader-sama about what happened," Sasori announced.

I nodded, "I'll drop you two off at headquarters before gathering more information on everything. Sasori, I suggest you don't go to the Tenchi Bridge now since you know that's where that pink haired brat is going to go. You will also need to create an arm for Deidara after we find his other one that was ripped off."

"You're very troublesome, Deidara," Sasori remarked as I landed in the forest near the place Deidara's arm was removed.

Below I saw Zetsu and my least favorite person: 'Tobi'. I landed and dropped the chakra cloak and watched as Tobi inspected Deidara's right arm. "Get your hand off that, idiot," Deidara said getting off of my back.

"Ah, you're alive!" Tobi exclaimed.

"What happened with the Jinchuuriki?" Zetsu's white half asked.

I snorted, "They both would have been pushing up daisies if I hadn't interfered. I destroyed the two puppets that were about to kill Sasori and Deidara was fixing to fight both Gai's team and Kakashi's team. Since you two are here I'll just leave the two bickering artists in your hands, Zetsu."

Deidara glared at me, "Ai, if I still had my arms I would turn you into art!"

"I dare you to try," I snarled. "Now, don't forget to report to leader; I'll be on my way."

And with that I took off and began to seek out my brother once again.

* * *

_I know this chapter was a bit rushed, but I wasn't sure how else to make it work. From here I can easily work with this story and get things rolling. I will hopefully get the next chapter out here soon __once I find the time. Thank you for those who haven't abandoned the story!_


	13. Chapter 13

_I finally finished this long chapter! There is plenty of drama in it and I'm going to go ahead and say _**Spoiler Alert! **_There is a conversation that happens in here that hints at Tobi's identity and plans, and also the true goals of the Akatsuki. There are also the events before Hidan and Kakuzu die. I gave you a fair warning._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

* * *

Twelve days. Twelve days had passed since the incident of the one-tailed Jinchuuriki and I was finally traveling around once again as a human. According to Zetsu, Hidan and Kakuzu had retrieved the two-tailed Jinchuuriki and were currently off to collect a bounty. I was currently near the Sand Village to lay low for the time being. I knew I was supposed to be gathering information on the other Jinchuuriki, but I was a very suspicious character right now. The heat was very aggravating, but at least no one would expect me to be here. A sudden buzz of Pein's chakra alerted me; it was time to seal the three tails and two tails. I ran as fast as I could to a safe location and concentrated. I confusingly looked around at all the hologram forms, "...Where's Hidan and Kakuzu? They late again?"

"They're caught up in a fight," Leader replied rather bored.

Not even a couple of minutes later and the Zombie Duo appeared in the hologram forms. "Hello; find a good bounty?" I asked.

"35 million ryou. Unfortunately we had to do this before collecting the bounty," Kakuzu remarked.

"We'll seal the 'Nibi' as soon as we're done with the 'Sanbi'. This will take at least six days; be prepared," Pein ordered as we started sealing the large, three tailed turtle.

"Six days...Damn long! This is fucking stupid!" Hidan exclaimed.

"Hidan, you shouldn't be the one to talk," Kakuzu remarked.

"We almost were able to massacre the fuckers from Konoha and show those Godless ones the existence of the Jashin religion!" the Jashinist stated irritated.

"Konoha isn't Godless they view the previous generation as God, and practice the 'Will of Fire'," Pein stated, "But that could all just be summed up as a justification to fight."

Hidan scowled, "You bastard, are you saying that just to make fun of me?!"

"No, I have no intention of making fun of the reason you fight," Pein said. "I'm in the same boat as you; the reason for war doesn't matter. Religion, beliefs, wealth, land, grudge, love, or just because. No matter how ridiculous the reason, it becomes a reason for war. The wars will never cease. The reason can come after them; the instinct demands battle."

"No one's listening to you talk on and on!" Hidan stated. "I have my way of doing things. I have my own goals, too; I have no intention of giving everything to this organization!"

Pein glared at Hidan, "As long as you belong to the organization 'Akatsuki' you will work for its goals as well. If the 'Akatsuki's' goals are met, then your wish will be achieved quickly as well."

"Hmph, no matter how cool you act, the goal of the 'Akatsuki' has just become 'gathering money'! Just like Kakuzu, the type of reason to fight that I hate the most!"

"That's right. Our immediate goals are indeed money, but the real goal of the 'Akatsuki' lies elsewhere. For that goal, we need a massive amount of money."

"Next to Tobi and Ai, I'm the newest member so I've never heard anything from you about it! Sneaking around when I'm not there..."

"...Are you pouting? Heh, fine, I'll tell you about them now. The 'Akatsuki's' final will be met by taking it stage by stage. There's a total of three stages. First is money, and the second stage is using that money to create the first ever mercenary organization of the Shinobi world."

"...Hey, hey, that's just the same thing all the other shinobi villages are doing. It means completing missions and getting paid. You want to become the chief of a small village which won't even be invited to belong by any country? Stupid..."

"Heh, it's nothing like that. A village that belongs to a country. I'll explain to you in order. For those countries that have a strong shinobi village. The 'shinobi business; holds a large part of the country's profits. The shinobi villages enter into battles, in and out of the country, and earn large amounts of money. It can be said that they support the country's economy. That means that for the country to make a steady profit there has to be some war. However, in this generation, while there are still small battles the large wars of the past are gone. The countries are trimming down the villages and many shinobi are losing their places. Shinobis exist to fight."

I yawned as Pein continued his speech on being used as mercenaries for use for all the nations. I just stared blankly at all of the members but a certain fact didn't get by me when Pein announced the third stage. "We'll conquer the world," Pein said.

My head snapped in his direction as all the information began flooding into my brain; Obito was pulling the strings and was using Pein to get away with it. Everything was starting to get connected and it wasn't looking pretty. "Did anyone wonder why we need to seal the Bijou in order to complete this goal? I know now what's going on and I'm no longer going to be getting information on the Jinchuuriki for you. Now that I'm fully aware of who's been pulling the strings you can forget about getting my help on retrieving them. However, Pein, I'll help you gather enough money for that 'stage'," I said. "Kakuzu, I'll meet you in Fire Country to help you gather the bounty; expect me to travel with you for a while."

Pein's eyes narrowed, "That isn't your decision to make, Ai. You are a back up and you are to obey each and every member. You can't-"

"When I originally agreed to help the Akatsuki I had made it clear that I would only be doing it to recreate the ten tailed Jinchuuriki, not to be some errand dog for a bunch of misguided people," I growled.

"You will watch how you speak-"

" Fucking bite me!" I shouted with venom in my voice.

An awkward silence filled the room as tension rose between Pein and me. I continued to glare daggers at the leader occasionally until a day had passed. "Now, as I was saying, Kakuzu, after this whole sealing business is done I'll go to find you guys and help you collect bounties while I try to complete my own goals," I said looking back at Kakuzu who nodded in response.

Itachi looked at me with a slightly disapproving look, "Why would you challenge Leader-sama?"

I looked at Itachi and sighed, " To make things more understandable, I value what little freedom I do have and when lies are being played out and I'm being ordered to do things against my will I take it as a threat to my very beliefs. I'm tired of a world webbed with lies and hate; things need to change and I'm ready to die for a cause like that. When Pein mentioned that he wants to take over the world I feel like I'm being used. The last person who tried to use me for their own selfish needs turned up dead and with me leaving the plan altogether and starting a new and potentially better life. If things are going to go down that route for this organization that I said I would help, then I hate to tell you but I won't hesitate to leave. Try to stop me, I dare you."

"No need to talk like that; I'm sure things aren't all that bad," Kisame mused.

I glanced around the room, "Maybe, but I don't like the idea of being controlled...Anyways, I'm going to continue traveling. Ever since the capturing of the one tailed Jinchuuriki I've had a feeling like I'm being watched. I don't know who or what, but it's very strange and I don't like it."

Kakuzu nodded, "I'll see you when you get here."

I nodded in return before removing my hologram from the room and opening my eyes to see the forest around me. I was stressed and needed to calm down before I did something drastic. I had approximately five more days left until I would return to meet up with Hidan and his partner and I had time to kill since the Akatsuki knew I wouldn't help them beyond the bounty collecting. I followed the sound of a stream until I got to a small waterfall crashing into a lake. With a sigh I removed my clothing and got in the water. The cool water felt good on my tired, aching muscles and allowed me to relax while I got myself clean. Questions began running through my head as I thought back on my disagreement with Pein. _'Why did going with Kakuzu even come into my head?'_ I wondered. _'Furthermore, why did I insist on doing so when I don't really care for Hidan at all..?'_

I continued dwelling on my confusing thoughts on why Kakuzu was my first and only suggestion. I didn't understand it; I needed answers. My eyes shut as I continued to relax and my mind subconsciously wondered back to Kakuzu, _'I wonder why he has so many stitches...I know he's in his nineties, but there has to be a specific reason that his body is covered with them...'_ I scowled once I realized he was on my mind.

After sitting in the lake for a good while I decided to get out and travel for the next five days before meeting with the two immortals. Like I had hoped the five days had passed with relative ease. I had pick-pocketed travelers on the road so I would have some money to give to the miser; I wasn't fortunate enough to locate any bounties but my skills got me 35,000 ryou. A small smile spread across my face; I was excited about seeing Kakuzu. I shouldn't have let my mind stay on Kakuzu for that long. I should have paid attention to my surroundings, but I didn't. That was when a horrible stench filled my nostrils. The foul scent caused my eyes to water and instantly hit my gag reflex. I didn't vomit, but I felt like doing so. I scanned the area until my eyes locked onto an eerie white gaze through the trees. Footsteps could be heard as a sixteen foot tall, black creature came into view. It looked like a shadow; the only thing giving its presence away being it's glowing, white eyes and sinister grin. Two strong arms extended from its torso as it held itself properly since it couldn't with the short legs it had. A spiked tail extended from the rear to balance the creature and huge claws reaching five feet in length extended from its hands. I knew this creature; it was a banshee.

I bared my teeth at the new problem that had risen: unless I wanted to put myself through pain I couldn't transform, but if I didn't I'd be screwed. Without any options I bit my thumb and ran the blood over the crest on my necklace. Once transformed, I lunged at the thing. I ignored the burning sensation of my muscles protesting against my sudden transformation. The pain wouldn't decrease; everything hurt ten-fold as my bones continued to break instead of set. My body was tearing itself apart and I could feel it. I sunk my teeth into the creature's back and flung it like a rag doll into a tree and caused it to knock a few trees over in the process. I looked around as I tried to locate the banshee, but it wasn't visible. The one thing I hated about these creatures was the fact that they weren't visible unless you were close to them or they dropped their cloaking ability. I was aware of the monster's presence however when I felt claws sink into my ribs and teeth biting my neck. A roar of pain escaped my mouth as I slammed my back against a ledge to get the creature to let go. Thankfully it did and I was able swing my tail at the beast and caused the earth to shatter around the beast. I spread my wings and took off; I needed to get to Hidan and Kakuzu before something happened. However, before I got too far off of the ground the banshee had jumped from the rubble and latched onto one of my wings with its claws causing me to get off-balance and crash into the trees and onto the earth. I already lost a lot of blood since I couldn't heal myself from the banshee injuries. Unfortunately they have some ability to kill anything immortal do to some poison of theirs. Because of that any dangerous points on the body hit will kill me. I growled and tackled the creature before sinking my teeth into its neck before transferring some of my chakra into the monster. It shrieked in pain before disappearing. With the threat gone I was once again in the air and on my way to Fire Country.

Unfortunately, I could easily tell where the Zombie Combo were due to the scent of their blood; they were in some serious trouble. I used some of my chakra to boost my speed and I noticed a horrific sight: Hidan tied up with hundreds of explosive tags. My eyes grew wide before my chakra cloaked me and I swooped down, snapped the wires quickly, and latched onto him with my forelegs before once again taking off. "I can't believe I'm fucking saying this, but I'm glad to see you, bitch," Hidan remarked.

"No time for that, where's Kakuzu?!" I asked through a mouth full of blood; the damn banshee hit an organ.

Hidan took note of my urgent tone, "Keep flying in this fucking direction."

I nodded before a destroyed forest came into view and Kakuzu stood before the Konoha shinobi and the nine tailed Jinchuuriki. Tentacle-like things were coming out of all sorts of places on Kakuzu's body as the Kyuubi brat made Shadow Clones. Just as a monstrous jutsu was about to hit Kakuzu's back, I flew down and blocked the jutsu with my own body and hit me directly on my right side. I roared in pain as my chakra cloak dropped. My body shook in pain as I forced myself to continue standing. I looked at the stunned shinobi in front of me. Growling I forced my body to move into a defensive position in front of the two Akatsuki members. "W-What is that?!" the blonde girl in the purple outfit asked.

"From the rumors I've heard about a creature like that, I'm assuming it's the 'guardian'..." Kakashi replied stunned.

"Very good, Kakashi; yes, I'm what you humans refer to as the guardian," I growled. "Get lost before I lose my patience and decide to slaughter the lot of you."

"Why are you helping them?!" the chubby boy questioned.

I snorted, "I wouldn't expect a village dog to understand. I get my freedom this way rather than being tied to a village that lies to the shinobi that makes the village a safe place."

Kakashi's eyes widened, "Wait...Ai..?"

Kakuzu looked over at me, "You know him?"

I nodded, "I knew him back when Minato was the Hokage during the war. Now you know the answer as to why I haven't aged a day since then. I'm cursed more than you'd ever believe."

My eyes began to blur over from blood-loss and I collapsed to the ground in pain as blood continued dying my white fur. "What the fuck happened?!" Hidan asked.

"Obviously she got in a fight before taking the hit meant for me," Kakuzu remarked.

I winced just before the screech of the Fire Lizards caught my attention. "Damn it, Kakashi, take them and get out of here now!" I ordered forcing myself to once again stand.

"We can't just let you go with the Akatsuki!" Naruto shouted.

I snarled and slammed my left forearm on the ground, "Do as I say if you don't want to die; we're being ambushed!"

Kakashi hesitated before nodding, "She's right; we don't have the chakra to fight more enemies right now."

Soon the Konoha shinobi were out of sight and I turned towards Hidan and Kakuzu, "Get on my back quickly."

"Who's ambushing us?" Kakuzu asked as they both got on without hesitation.

I took off quickly and forced my screaming body to fly north. I was about to reply when I felt a sudden wave of heat approaching. I looked behind me and dodged a fire ball that was aiming right for my wing. I growled before forcing my chakra outward. "Hang on tight," I ordered the two passengers.

Without any further warning I began spinning at an intense speed and created a tornado, successfully ripping a large amount of the unsuspecting creatures to shreds. The outside temperature began to get colder as we continued north. I noticed a sea of water before diving under to get rid of the Lizard's on my tail. I continued under the surface for a little before a fireball forced me to once again fly into the air. With all the chakra I had left I caused a lightning storm to strike the remaining Lizard's. I continued flying as much as I could shortly after before I blacked out.

**Third Person...**

Sheer panic took over Hidan as they all plummeted to the snow-covered earth below. "Fuck, Kakuzu, what do we do?!" the Jashinist exclaimed.

"How should I know?!" the miser snapped glaring at his idiot partner.

Before they could process what was happening any further, Ai's body collided with the earth. Kakuzu and Hidan had landed a short distance away from her body. The Jashinist groaned as he stood up and looked over at Ai's unconscious body. "Fuck, she's out cold..." Hidan said.

Kakuzu frowned as he also looked at their friend, "...We owe her our lives. If it weren't for her jumping in we both would have died."

"Don't fucking say it like that," Hidan scowled.

The miser walked over to Ai and immediately began stitching up her more serious wounds. "Whatever attacked her before she rescued us messed with her healing ability," he noted.

"So what are we going to fucking do? We don't have any excess chakra to contact the damn leader and I have no idea where we are," the silver haired shinobi mentioned.

"We're obviously in the Land of Snow, idiot. As for what we should do, go find shelter while I finish here; animals will be able to catch onto us if she keeps bleeding like this."

"Why do I have to go and find fucking shelter?!"

"Because your voice is annoying me. Don't wonder too far though in case you get lost."

Hidan scowled before going off to look for some shelter. Kakuzu looked at Ai's face before sighing; he knew he owed her for saving his life. There was no way that the miser would have survived that powerful jutsu. Ai's eyes slowly opened before she winced. Her right eye locked onto Kakuzu before she tried to force herself to stand. "Ai, what are you doing?!" Kakuzu asked. "You are in no condition to move right now."

Ai fell to the ground in labored breathing, "I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner, Kakuzu..."

Kakuzu's eyes softened without him realizing it, "You were attacked, it's understandable."

"Hey! I found a fucking cave!" Hidan shouted as he returned. "And you, why the fuck did you pass out on us?!"

Ai frowned at Hidan, "...Remind me why I saved your ass..."

Kakuzu stood up from his kneeling position and looked down at Ai, "Can you turn human at all?"

"I'll need some chakra in order to do so..." Ai replied.

With a nod the miser placed his hands on the large, furry shoulder of Ai's and began transferring his chakra into her body. Ai used his chakra to force the necklace that was hidden to open and seal the demon's chakra. After a few minutes, Ai's body was once again human, but she was covered with blood. When she forces herself to be a demon her body won't heal itself quickly and will sometimes take weeks before the nerves get reconnected properly. Ai winced as Kakuzu picked her up and carried her to the cave that Hidan found. It would be a while before they would be able to leave the cave safely.

* * *

_I hope you liked this chapter. I know it's slightly rushed during the fighting scenes, but I'm no good at typing them. Please review and let me know what you think of the chapter! :)_


	14. Chapter 14

_I know this chapter is way shorter than the other, but oh well. I'll update my other stories, but right now I'm wanting to complete this one. I hope you're liking the story so far and no one has given up on it. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

* * *

"Since when the fuck do you care about others?" I heard Hidan ask Kakuzu in a quiet voice.

I hadn't realized that I once again fell asleep; I was too exhausted to open my eyes though so I listened to my two favorite people talk. I may not like Hidan, but he was loyal to his friends and teammate, that's what counts. "I...don't know... I can't explain it, but she's always on my mind. I'm confused by my feelings and I can't tell if I like it or not," Kakuzu said in a quiet, soft voice.

Silence consumed the tent for a moment before Hidan once again spoke, "You're fucking falling for her hard, aren't you? She saves your ass and you fall in love; how classic is that? You know what Pein would say if he found out about this?"

"Shut up, Hidan. No one is going to find out because you're not saying anything," the miser threatened.

I inhaled sharply to let them know I was waking up; after exhaling I opened my eyes to see Kakuzu sitting nearest to me and Hidan sitting across the way leaning against a rock. "Sleep good, bitch?" the Jashinist asked.

"How long was I asleep?" I questioned ignoring the cold.

"About three days; your injuries were very serious. What did you fight before finding us?" Kakuzu wondered.

A violent shiver ran through my body which resulted in me wincing due to the remaining, unhealed injuries. Kakuzu immediately shifted closer, "Hidan, hand me your coat."

Hidan frowned but complied none the less. Kakuzu carefully wrapped the cloak around me and I slightly smirked, "Aren't you getting soft...if this was Hidan you'd throw him in the snow. Anyways, I was attacked by a banshee. It's my natural enemy that has a venom that prevents the demon chakra from healing me."

"See, Kakuzu, you are getting soft!" Hidan shouted.

Kakuzu sent a glare at Hidan who smirked knowingly. "Thank you, Kakuzu," I said with a soft smile. "Thank you both."

The two males looked shocked and confused by my sudden kindness. "Why are you thanking us when you saved us?" Kakuzu questioned.

I shook my head, the kindness never left my eyes. When I chose to save these boys I had a realization: they kept me strong. Sure I didn't know them for that long, but out of the whole Akatsuki they trusted me the most and had accepted me. They were my boys and I would protect them for as long as I lived. "I'm not just saying a simple thank you. My gratitude runs deeper than that. I'm thanking you for being my friends, for trusting me, and for staying by my side when I'm not functional," I explained.

A kindness that I did not know existed in the two immortals shone brightly in their eyes. There were so many things that were said in their expressions and that was all I needed. For the first time I shut my eyes and smiled. This wasn't a smile that I had faked for years, but a true smile. "You are my boys; I will stop at nothing to keep you two protected. I'll always be there for you," I said. "That is a promise."

And leave it to Hidan to kill the mood. "So wait, when you say we're your fucking boys, what do you mean?" the Jashinist asked.

I began cracking up regardless of my pain. A confused expression came over Hidan's face before realization hit him and he too began a laughing fit. "...Moron," Kakuzu said.

"It...hurts so bad...but it's too funny..!" I said between breaths. I sighed to calm down. "Well, when I said that I mean you guys are my friends, companions, and my favorite people in the world. I love you both."

"...Like in the romantic way? Fuck that!" Hidan shouted.

I sighed, "I think I take that statement back; one of you is a moron who doesn't understand a compliment."

"Oi, fuck you, Ai!" Hidan shouted.

A smirk made its way to my face, "Now, have either of you been able to contact Pein?"

"No, because of our own injuries and yours we haven't been able to fully regain our chakra since we use it to take care of the injuries," Kakuzu replied.

"Speaking of which, how long would you say until it's safe for me to move again?" I asked.

"Let me know when it doesn't hurt to move at all," them miser retorted.

I scowled, "How can I know when you and Hidan are watching me like hounds?"

"Which reminds me, I'm fucking hungry, when are we getting something to fucking eat?" Hidan asked.

"...You guys didn't eat?" I asked as my right eye twitched.

"They Jashinist shook his head, "No, this old fuck didn't want to risk a fucking ambush while the three of us are this injured. Like I said, fucker is getting soft."

Kakuzu chucked a sharp rock at Hidan's skull and successfully caused the moron's head to bleed. "Shut up," he growled.

I smirked as I felt exhausted once again, "There's the miser I've come to love..." My breathing once again became steady as I fell back asleep.

**Third Person**

"...I'll pretend she didn't just say that," Hidan remarked.

Kakuzu was still unsure how to react to the statement. He didn't know if he should feel happy about someone loving him or worry about the girl's sanity. Deep down, however, he was relieved that he heard her say those words even if she said it without realizing it. "Hidan, I'm going out to search for something edible; stay here and guard Ai," the miser ordered getting up. "Also make sure she stays warm, otherwise her shivering will open up some of her wounds."

"Yeah, yeah I'll make sure the bitch is safe; just go get us some fucking food," Hidan said waving a hand and moving where Kakuzu was seated near Ai.

With a nod Kakuzu darted out into the snow-covered ground to go hunt for food. Hidan sighed as he looked down at the peaceful expression that was on Ai's face. "...You fucking changed us, stupid bitch..." the Jashinist said with a sigh.

* * *

_I know Hidan and Kakuzu are out of character, but I think they should start turning soft. These two are my favorite characters and I thought this filler chapter would be good to use for the three to get to know each other better. Anyways, please review._


	15. Chapter 15

_I finally got around to finishing this chapter and posting it! I'm so sorry it took so long. I recently got Mass Effect for the PC and have been playing it rather than working on my stories. My apologies for that. Also, next week starting Tuesday there will be no guarantee of me posting any new chapters since I'm going to Harry Potter World in Florida. I can't wait! I will be bringing my laptop with me though so I can work on my stories before and after our adventures through Hogsmeade. I'll be back in Tennessee on the fifteenth though. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

* * *

Hidan's head snapped to the cave entrance as he heard footsteps approaching. He was currently laying down next to Ai under the cloak with his arms securely wrapped around her form to keep her warm. About an hour after Kakuzu had left, Ai had begun violently shaking do to the freezing temperature outside which resulted in some of her stitches opening up. Only recently had she finally been able to stop shivering. _'Damn, I can't move with Ai's death-grip on me...'_ Hidan thought.

Fortunately it wasn't anyone other than Kakuzu entering the cave with a small deer. "I got lucky and found a group of deer looking for a source of food," the miser said placing the white-tailed deer on the floor. That's when he noticed Hidan laying next to Ai. "...She get cold?"

"Yeah, she started to fucking shake badly in her sleep; the bitch opened a few of her stitches because of it," the Jashinist replied.

Ai frowned a bit signaling she had woken up and she shoved Hidan away, "You're too noisy..." A few seconds later she immediately clung back onto Hidan; it was too cold not to share body heat.

Hidan raised an eyebrow at the silver haired girl, "I thought I was too fucking loud."

"I'd rather have the noise then to deal with the insufferable cold," she replied with a yawn.

The miser frowned, "Are you still tired?"

"I'm fucking tired as hell...You try running out of chakra without being tired as fuck. No fun."

Kakuzu nodded before hanging the deer by its hind legs and letting it bleed out. "Hidan, I'll need you to show me where her stitches opened up," the money whore said

The Jashinist scowled, "I would if she would stop fucking clinging to me."

"Can you do it later? I'm too cold, Kuzu..." Ai pouted tightening her grip on Hidan.

The silver haired girl couldn't help but notice Kakuzu get a little...shy when she said 'Kuzu' instead of his actual name. She guessed he wasn't used to getting a nickname. "It's Kakuzu, and I have to make sure you won't suffer from blood loss," the miser said walking over to the cuddling pair.

"I dun wanna..." she whined.

"Too bad," he remarked as he removed the cloak to find that one of the cuts on her side had indeed reopened. With a sigh Kakuzu re-stitched the nasty wound along with one other that opened up. "There, that wasn't so bad now was it?"

Ai childishly stuck her tongue out at the miser, "You took away my warmth..."

Hidan smirked, "You know what, bitch, you're more childish when you're in this state. I kind of like seeing you not being so fucking depressed all the damn time."

A frown formed on Ai's face before she shoved the Jashinist away. "Kuzu, Hidan is being a butthole. I'll need you to take his place," she said in a child-like manner.

"Fuck you, bitch!" said Jashinist shouted.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes, "Hidan, go make yourself useful and skin the deer."

"While I latch onto the miser," Ai mumbled tiredly.

"Why do I have to fucking do it?!" Hidan asked as he got up.

Said temperamental money whore scowled at Ai, " You will because I say so. Ai, you are not going back to sleep until you eat something. It's been a couple of days since you ate; you need nutrition."

Ai shrugged, "It's not like I'm going to die from starvation. You forget that I've already tried every means of killing myself. It didn't really work like I hoped it would."

"I don't care; you are eating whether or not you agree with it," Kakuzu remarked.

"Kuzu, why are you being s-so m-m-mean..?" she asked as she started to shiver.

Kakuzu sighed before looking over at Hidan in hopes that he had yet to start gutting the deer. He soon found himself nervous seeing the Jashinist covered in blood: he had to keep the girl who changed him warm. He didn't like the idea in fear of her reaction. With a deep breath he sat down next to her before laying down and placing his hands behind his head. Ai felt his warmth and instantly wrapped her arms around his torso. "I dub thee my cuddle buddy," Ai said resting her head on the miser's chest.

Hidan snorted as he fought back a laugh; he found it amusing that his partner had found someone who obviously took an interest in him. "This is so fucking hilarious! I now have blackmail on your ass!" the Jashinist exclaimed.

Kakuzu glared at his partner, "You'll end up like that deer if you keep it up."

"Yeah, yeah. You always fucking threaten me like that and then you merely try to beat the shit out of me," Hidan remarked.

"Shh, there's no need for you two to argue; I'm content with this situation and you, my dearest Jashinist, are ruining it by making Kakuzu upset," Ai stated through closed eyes.

Kakuzu wasn't sure what to do in this situation so he just stayed quiet. He didn't want to make Ai feel uncomfortable so he didn't try to move. Soon he felt Ai's breathing become steady as she once again fell asleep. Hidan had noticed this and frowned, "Hey, hey, hey! I thought you said you weren't going to let her sleep until she ate!"

"Quiet moron. Right now she is still exhausted and the food isn't even ready yet. I'll wake her up when the food is cooked," the miser said.

Hidan was quiet for a moment as his gaze never left his partner who had the major anger issues. He could not believe how soft he had become over this girl who happened to enter their life by mere chance. "You're fucking pathetic dude," he remarked with a scowl.

"How am I pathetic?" Kakuzu glared.

"Come on, your normal attitude and short temperedness have practically vanished about a couple fucking weeks ago; you can't fucking tell me that you haven't, bastard!" Hidan said continuing to gut the deer.

"Shut up, Hidan," was all the miser could say; he knew how right Hidan was, but he wasn't about to admit it.

* * *

_I hope this chapter was good. I know the miser and Jashinist are both out of character, but I think it works. I would have had this chapter out yesterday if it wasn't for my second job; life is a bitch like that though so I can't win. Anyways, thank you for those who haven't given up on me!_


	16. Chapter 16

_Last chapter of the trio being in the snow! I'll probably start jumping ahead more into the series because I feel I need to end this story soon. I started a Fullmetal Kitten story along with one of my own made up from scratch stories that will be posted as soon as I finish one or two of my current fanfictions. I think I'm just going to delete my Naruto Puppies story because no plot is coming to me and my brain is fried from too much work and lack of sleep. Anyways, hope you like this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

* * *

I awoke to a very pleasant smell. Besides the obvious scent of meat cooking there was something else that was more appealing and it was inches from my nose. It was a musky, cedar scent with a hint of spearmint. Also, a small trace of blood was detectable. I smiled through my closed eyes and buried my face into my pillow; I soon realized it was a chest. I opened my eyes to see none other than Kakuzu glaring at none other than Hidan. I felt my strength back so I sat up partially and looked directly at the miser. "What did he do this time?" I asked.

"You look fucking better," Hidan remarked; I could see his grin from over here.

"Other than my dry throat I feel much better; do we have any water?" I asked.

"We've used my shirt as a filter for melting snow; since it has holes in it the water still gets dirt in it," Kakuzu remarked. "I have a question though; when I was checking your vitals I noticed you have an irregular heartbeat that's slower than the average humans. Why is that?"

I became worried when he mentioned my heartbeat wasn't normal, so I took my pointer and middle finger on my right hand and placed them on my left wrist. I felt a strong beat then a short pause before two quick beats and a slower one followed. I sat there for a short while and sighed in relief when I noticed it was the same as it has been for the longest time. "My heartbeats fine; if you're talking about how different it is compared to the average human heart, I already know. I believe Krill had mentioned to you that the heart I currently have isn't actually my heart," I mentioned.

"So your brother fucking swapped your heart out? That's fucking sick," Hidan remarked.

I just shrugged, "Yeah, but this heart is very powerful. The beats are stronger than my actual heart. Want to listen?"

Both boys didn't know what to say or how to react. I just rolled my eyes, "It's not like I'm asking if you want to have sex with me, geez. I'm just asking if you want to hear my heartbeat."

"Uh, sure?" Hidan replied unsure. He then came over and hesitantly placed his ear against my chest above my breasts. He listened for a minute before moving his head away, "That sounds so fucking weird..."

Kakuzu looked at both Hidan and me curiously, "What sounds weird?"

"You need to fucking listen for yourself," the Jashinist remarked.

The miser looked really uncomfortable with the situation as he also placed his ear against my chest to listen. I was hoping I was still unwell that caused the feeling in my stomach because I didn't want Kakuzu to leave the place close to my heart. An ache filled my chest as he pulled away with curious eyes. "That's very interesting; you can hear the blood flowing through the heart as it beats along with the chakra flow..." the miser noted.

I nodded, "That's what makes it interesting. I can feel the blood traveling in my body and all. Anyways, about that water, can I please have some before I die of dehydration."

Hidan shook his head and handed me a small bucket of water, "We got lucky and found this fucking pale around the cave while we were checking the perimeter."

I looked in the bucket and frowned, "It's all dirty and shit..."

"It's better than no fucking water," the Jashinist stated.

I was about to reply when I realized I needed to piss like a drunkard locked in a room without a toilet. "Not trying to make things awkward but I got to take care of some business," I said starting to stand up.

I couldn't help but notice Kakuzu's eyes locked onto my person as I made my way outside of the cave. As soon as I was hidden from the sight of the cave interest I relieved myself; I never wanted to hold in urine for that long ever again. I was about to head back inside the cave when I felt an all too familiar chakra presence: Obito. I looked around me and saw him standing on the rocks that made the cave. "...Obito," I growled.

"I figured you knew who I was," he said in his serious demeanor. "I've been looking for you and the two immortals; I'm assuming they're with you?"

"Why should I tell an ass like you? You've been using each and every one of the members," I said glaring at the Uchiha.

"I have been, yes, but why should you care? You're just a demon in a human's body. Do you really think they're grateful about you having saved them? I'd say they're embarrassed that a creature such as yourself had helped them live. If you know I'm using them, why bother saving their lives? Are you hoping for a place to belong?" the masked man questioned.

"It's none of your business what I think; I did what I did just to save them and that's it. Period. End of story. Now, why did you come here? You know I'm no longer part of this miserable organization," I remarked.

His sharingan eye spun rapidly, "Yes, you are still in this organization; you'll continue to be in this organization until I say otherwise. Madara had you created so that you'd obey me and that's the end of it."

"No, I'll never obey you! I'll only listen to Hidan and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki and that is the extent of it!" I shouted.

"Yes, you will or I will personally end those two. They probably don't even really care what happens to you at all. But keep this in mind, if you don't obey me they will die along with other members I know you're fond of. I will even kill Krill, or as you say his human name is, Markle," Obito threatened just before he disappeared.

I stared at the spot Obito was standing and I couldn't help but feel...broken. The ones I cared about and loved were being threatened by the man I was made to take orders from. I didn't know what to do. If I tried to disobey someone will die, but if I were to obey I would betray my beliefs and my promises to the Tailed Beasts. I know longer felt hungry or thirsty; I just wanted to be alone...

* * *

_You may be wondering as to why Obito seems like such an ass hole, but for those who haven't read the manga up to date, he truly is an ass hole. He manipulates everyone to do things his way by threatening others so of course he'll do the same as long as he gets to complete his "Moon Eye" plan. I'm thinking about going ahead and skipping to the part where she meets up with Sasuke just before Deidara is about to be an idiot and blow himself up, but I don't know if I should. I'd appreciate ideas from readers! :) Please review._


	17. Chapter 17

_The chapter is finally completed! I do not know what got me wanting to type this story again, but I am happy motivation finally struck! It's longer than the last chapter, but it's still rather short much to my dismay. Anyways, enjoy my lovelies~!_

_I do not own Naruto_

* * *

I couldn't help but stay focused on what Obito had informed me about; I ignored the worried glances that Hidan and Kakuzu gave me. My eyes never left the ground I was walking on. "Ai, are you okay?" the Jashinist asked; I was surprised his voice was laced with concern.

I bit my lip and nodded; I knew I would be risking their lives if I were to inform them of the situation. I was unaware of the blood I was drawing from chewing on my lip. I noticed both of the Zombie Combo frown, obviously knowing that I was lying. "Bull fucking shit; what the hell is wrong?" the immortal asked.

A tear I didn't know I was holding back rolled down my cheek; damn my emotions. I wiped the tear off of my cheek and shook my head, "I-I can't tell you...I wish I could, but I can't."

Kakuzu subconsciously walked closer to my person in a way to comfort me, "You can't, don't know how to say it, or just don't want to?"

"I can't; I have been threatened and if I reveal what I so badly wish to, things will take a turn for the worst..." I said quietly.

"Just fucking tell us. You act like we don't have your fucking back," Hidan scowled.

I shook my head at his misinterpretation, "I'm not the one who is in danger; the entire Akatsuki and Krill are the ones in grave danger...If I reveal anything I put your lives on the line..."

"...So you're doing this to protect us..." the miser said.

I nodded as I felt a thick lump in my throat form as I choked back tears. I hated feeling helpless or being stuck in a situation like this. "Please don't worry, I will somehow straighten things-"

Hidan had punched me in the face which caused Kakuzu to send a murderous glare at his idiot partner. "You snap out of this fucking mood! The Ai that we've come to know doesn't take shit from anybody and doesn't fucking cry! Now shape us and inform us; we'll take whatever's coming head on!" he shouted.

I blinked in shock before staring at my dearest Jashinist; he had a point: the Akatsuki could all handle themselves. I wiped my cheeks dry before hardening my gaze at the road ahead. Hidan was absolutely right; I needed to inform them and face the threat head on rather than letting Obito have his way. "I will tell you, but I have to explain everything from the beginning, and somewhere I know we'll be safe from the eyes of Zetsu..." I stated.

"That's near fucking impossible, that guy can go anywhere," our silver haired companion remarked.

"Then I will need to risk it just to inform you..." I sighed. "Okay, I will try to make this as short as possible. My clan was one that was powerful and advanced in a way that brought fear to most of the shinobi world. We had done experiments on animals to create cross-breeds and to make the animals abnormally large to help our clan through the First Shinobi War. Our experimentation didn't stop with animals; soon our clan leader had the clan's most brilliant minds creating rigged weapons."

"Which is where you got your talent," Kakuzu noted.

I nodded in confirmation, "Yes, it turns out my dad was head of that particular department. Anyways, just after the Uchiha Clan and Hashirama's clan had formed the Leaf Village the tension continued to grow between the two clans. I had recently turned seventeen when a man by the name of Madara Uchiha had defected from the Leaf and had sought out my clan. At this time, my brother was continuing the animal experimentation and my weapons were popular. My older brother was who Madara had contacted; the Uchiha wanted him to create a monster with the power of the tailed beasts that could hide among the crowds and had the ability to communicate with them for ultimate control.

"After I had turned eighteen my brother had gathered everything the elder Uchiha had asked and had also began altering a creature that could counter the other if it back fired."

"That's how you got in the situation you're in now," Kakuzu concluded.

"Exactly. Well, after I was turned into the monster and during the Third Shinobi War, Madara had found me and told me of the role I was to play in his plan to cast a genjutsu over the world; I refused to obey the Uchiha's successor that he intended to have take over said plan. That man is known as Obito Uchiha who's going under the alias of 'Tobi'," I said quieter towards the end.

Hidan blinked at me before busting out laughing, "You got to be fucking kidding me!"

Kakuzu frowned at his partner before looking at Ai, "While I know you haven't lied to any of us, Hidan does have a point; there is no way that idiot could be an evil mastermind."

"Unfortunately it is the truth; through Madara's orders though Obito calls himself Madara. Eventually, however, someone is bound to find out the truth. You can't always get away with pretending," I remarked. "When I snapped and told Pein that I was defecting from the Akatsuki, that was when all the information clicked; the reason behind the gathering of the tailed beasts is so that the ten tailed beast, known as the Juubi, would be once again whole and Obito would be the second container for the beast. From there he will cast an infinite genjutsu over the world; that is the true purpose of the Akatsuki. Pein-sama isn't the real leader like he used to be. Through manipulation Obito was able to take over and remain hiding until recently when he wanted to make sure the members were obeying."

Kakuzu sighed, "This isn't a lie, Hidan, there are too many details which proves she's not just making this up..."

Hidan frowned, "This fucking changes everything. How do you know his plan anyways?"

"Well, a while after I was turned into what I am now and still not in full control of my other side, I noticed a white man with green hair that looked like the man that had been following me. I stupidly decided to trail after him until I came upon the hiding place of both of the Uchihas. After being informed that he was the one who essentially ruining my life I refused to take part and ran into hiding," I replied.

"Don't you fucking worry, we'll make sure all the heathens will be safe," the Jashinist said patting my shoulder reassuringly.

The miser's eyes narrowed as something in mind came to light, "When exactly were you threatened? I don't remember you being so down before hand..."

"I figured you would ask; it was when I went outside to pee. When I finished Obito showed up and threatened me," I answered.

Kakuzu nodded, "I thought I felt another chakra presence..."

I let out a sigh, "I will need to get you guys and Krill to a safe location before things progress as they have been...Unfortunately, I think that may be only in the villages themselves..."

"We're fucking wanted criminals, how the fuck would we be able to hide in the damn villages?!" Hidan shouted.

"It was just a note," I growled.

The rest of our trip back to the Akatsuki hideout was rather quiet; I was still tense about possible finding out if Obito knew I warned my boys. Fortunately, I don't think he did because he was still acting like the idiot I knew he was. I had to tell the others though, so I went to the next person I knew I could trust: Sasori. Once outside of his room's door I knocked in hopes he and Deidara weren't out on a mission. I was sincerely grateful when he opened the door. "I was actually going to ask if you would let me test a poison on you?" Sasori said with a slight smirk.

"Okay, but first we need to talk," I said barging into his room and closing the door. I then performed a hand-sign that prevented anyone from over hearing our conversation.

Sasori scowled at my behavior before noticing the seriousness in my face. "What did you want to talk about?" he sighed.

I then began explaining everything I told the Zombie Combo. Once I got through explaining the situation, the puppet master seemed unsure of how to take the information. "This certainly explains why you suddenly snapped during the extraction of the three tailed," he remarked.

"Yeah," I half-smiled. I then took down the jutsu, "Now didn't you want to try out a new poison?"

Sasori nodded before injecting me with said poison; I was going to be loopy for the next few hours...joy.

* * *

_This took me so long to figure out how to start this chapter. Once I got passed that though, it just easily flowed. Now if you think my fan fictions are good, please check out my sister and send her some reviews; she needs motivation to update. Her username is TigerWitch3 and is the author of a few Harry Potter fan fictions. In my opinion she's a better writer than me. _

_Please review :) _


	18. Chapter 18

_I am so sorry it took me so long to update; I had gotten busy with two jobs and relatives and haven't been able to work on my stories. I apologize fully and hopefully I'll be able to finish this story within the next chapter or two. I'll admit that this chapter isn't my favorite nor my best, but it fills in where needed. Well, hope ya'll like it :_)

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Kisame frowned at me; he didn't like the information I was giving him. In the last two days I had informed everyone about the situation and I was now telling Itachi and Kisame. Due to being lied to throughout his life, the ex-Kiri ninja didn't want to accept that the man who had come to him for the Akatsuki had lied to him about his identity. He was also not okay with living in a lie; he was tired of all the dishonesty in the world. "How do I know you're not lying to me about this?" Kisame questioned.

"I have yet to find a reason to lie to you," I sweat-dropped. "Now, if I hated your guts, I definitely would question my motives if I were you. Thankfully this isn't the case."

"She's not lying, Kisame; I had used this man to aid me before and he, too gave me the alias of Madara. I was suspicious of him not being honest though..." Itachi remarked.

The blue man ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long sigh. I was aware he wouldn't take it all too well. "So what do we do?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, we can't do anything just yet, but soon I will need to confront Obito and put an end to him; we can, however, prepare for that time. He already threatened to kill those who are close to me so we'll need to make a plan that will keep everyone out of danger," I stated in a low voice. "I think that I have a solution, but I'll need to meet up with Pein in person. When I go to confront Obito all of you guys will need to be out on missions; the thing is no one but you and Pein can know the details of where and what the mission is. You cannot tell anyone."

Kisame frowned, "You aren't lying."

I shook my head, "Like I said, I don't have any reason to lie to you."

"It explains why you got angry during the extraction of the three tails," Itachi noted.

I nodded, "Everything made sense and I didn't want to follow when of the men responsible for me ending up the way I am. Now, I'm going to talk to Pein and get the plans in motion before Obito gets suspicious."

With that I deactivated the sound barrier and left the room. I felt bad for telling Kisame he was once again being lied to, but it was needed for his safety. Knowing what needed to be done, I went to Pein's office to discuss the plans to keep my new family alive and safe.

Four weeks had passed and the Zombie Combo were left, ready to leave within the hour. My plan was so far working and had been in progress in the past two weeks and I could feel Obito's chakra becoming more and more tense; he was starting to become suspicious and I couldn't wait to finish getting everyone to safety. However, I had a feeling things would go wrong which it did. A sudden pain came to my left shoulder while I was helping Kakuzu pack causing me to drop some of his kunai to grip my shoulder; that's when a yowl caught my attention. Krill had been injured.

Kakuzu's attention immediately went to me as I nursed my seemingly uninjured shoulder. "You okay?" he asked.

"Krill's in trouble," I said hissing in pain. Without much more thought I immediately got up and ran to where my brother was with Kakuzu in tow to find Obito holding him by the scruff with a kunai stuck in his left shoulder.

If looks could kill Obito would be dead ten times over. He was hurting my younger brother and I was not okay with this. "Let him go, Obito!" I snarled.

"To think you'd try to disobey me," the masked man's deep voice said. "I'm a little disappointed; but like I said, if you didn't obey I'd kill your brother."

Krill looked at me with panic in his eyes; like me he was unsure of whether or not he could die from a wound. I had always been there to protect him and never let him get into harm's way. I wanted to do nothing more than to go to Krill and tell him things were going to be okay, but I didn't know if he would be. My glare intensified as I willed his head to explode. Hidan eventually came by to see where his partner went, and he glared coldly at the masked man when he saw the predicament. "Let that fucker go," he said grabbing the hilt of his scythe.

"You choose to fight me and I'll kill him right now," Obito threatened.

I'm amazed our glares didn't faze the Uchiha, but he was aware he had the upper hand currently. I was not going to stand for that. "Let my brother go," I repeated; I noted his Sharingan watching me intently.

"You've been plotting against me and you will suffer the consequences. I warned you and yet you didn't listen," the Uchiha said putting his left hand that wasn't holding Kill's scruff on top of my brother's head; fear clutched my heart when he positioned his right hand around the cat's neck.

A loud snap was heard as he snapped my brothers neck and dropped him; I felt the snap as well in my neck and followed suit in hitting the ground from the pain. With a groan I pushed myself off of the ground with the new migraine that intruded on my head. Krill wasn't moving on the floor and I was now beyond worried. "You bastard!" I shouted ignoring the pounding from the headache.

"I did warn you," the masked man said in a cocky tone.

Tears escaped my eyes as I looked at my unmoving brother; I was hoping he would be immortal like me so he could live a good life after I set things straight, but now he lay on the ground unmoving. My nails dug into my palms and drew blood in my anger and sorrow. "You bastard!" I practically screamed before trying to charge at Obito; unfortunately Kakuzu held me back from doing anything reckless. He, too, though was glaring at the Uchiha.

I continued fighting Kakuzu to get to the Uchiha, but without chakra it was useless. The tears kept on falling and I had given up struggling; I felt broken. The one person I couldn't live without was killed right in front of me and I couldn't do a damn thing. Something caught my attention though soon after that I'm sure no one else was aware of: I felt my chakra running through Krill's body. This surprised me since he wasn't breathing at all. What shocked me more was the feeling of his neck being repaired by my chakra. This instantly calmed me down. My mind began racing as I was trying to come up with a plan to get everyone to safety without Obito causing anymore harm.

Obito noticed my change in behavior though and I noticed his sharingan eye narrowing at my brother's body; I forgot he could see chakra. Once again his eye locked on to me and his eyes narrowed, "What are you planning?"

I didn't know what I was planning, but I do know that I could go back to being how I used to before I created this necklace. Was it risky? Yes, but without the necklace I would be back to my old self and things would happen naturally than with my charm. I was about to break the charm when a blinding light came from my brother's body. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the chakra burst, but when they did I was stunned to see my brother in a giant cat form.

Now he wasn't just a giant brown cat, he had more of a lion look to him. Two, spear-like appendages had grown near his tail and were bent threateningly at Obito. Lightning erupted around his paws where he stood; never have I seen this side of my brother, nor did I know he could do this. Obito was smart enough to back away from the raging feline and to keep his distance from me and my boys. Being the smart person I knew he was, the Uchiha thought it best to flee so he wouldn't risk ending his life so soon. Once I was sure he was gone I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Krill, I didn't know you could do that," I remarked.

"I didn't either, but I think that your chakra had a factor in it," he said before shrinking back to size. "The chakra just felt like it took over me in all honesty; it was like the chakra entered my body and came over me."

I blinked before nodding, "I'm curious as to how that happened, but right now we have to leave before Obito returns."

"I'm fucking with you on that," Hidan grumbled.

Kakuzu nodded before we left Ame and headed to meet up with the other members who were out on their 'mission'. We were all aware that the final battle was approaching; I was able to convince Zetsu to keep an eye out for us from the inside. That was hard to do considering he was aimed to help Obito in the first place; thankfully he believed that living a lie wasn't really solving any issues but creating more. Before Deidara and Sasori left to the meeting place I had been searching for a new hideout that couldn't be accessed by just anybody; I made a barrier that was only accessible with a blood seal. We would have to lay low until I was able to convince the Villages to allow the Akatsuki to be let off the Bingo Book.

I sighed as I sat on my bed in the new hideout; I was feeling overwhelmed with stress and I needed to sleep for a couple of days. Just as I was about to lay down I heard a knock on my make-shift door. "Come in," I said fluffing up my pillow.

Kakuzu opened the door before quietly closing it behind him, "You feeling alright?"

I shrugged as he came over and sat next to me on my bed, "I mean it was stressful today and I had thought I had lost my brother back there...I don't know how much more I can take with this..."

It was quiet for a moment before I turned to face him and our eyes locked. I had never had this feeling before and it was honestly making my heart race. Our eyes never separated and I found myself pulling down his mask before planting a kiss right on his lips; before I could pull away he surprisingly held me in place continuing the kiss. One thing led to another and soon we were engaged in a certain activity that kept us up for hours.

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_Like I said I don't really like this chapter, but oh well. Now if you remember from the earlier chapters Ai explains how her brother was saved and she mentions that if he gets hurt she feels his pain. Also, I know Krill becomes major Mary-Sue but unfortunately I couldn't see a way around it with Obito in the mix unless I wanted him to potentially kill Kakuzu and Hidan; that wouldn't have been good._

_Anyways my lovelies, please have a good day and stay safe! Please review :)_


	19. Chapter 19

_I did a time-skip to after the 4th Shinobi War because this story is needing to come to an end._ _I've had this chapter typed up for a while do to a dream I had and I didn't want to forget about it and it made sense to me in some weird way. _

_I do not own Naruto_

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I looked lovingly at my beautiful daughter. Her iceberg colored eyes shone brightly on her tan features. Her thick, brown curls reached her shoulders as she beamed at me. Her skin was the same color as Kakuzu's, but her body frame was the same as mine. The four-year-old pulled on my skirt, "Is dinnew almost done?!"

"Yes, Akemi love, it won't take too much longer," I replied bending down and kissing her head, "Why don't you tell your father?"

Akemi's smile grew, "Oh can I?!"

"Yes, sweetie," I smiled.

The brunette ran down our Konoha apartment's stairs to mine and Kakuzu's shared room. It had been almost four years since the Fourth Shinobi war had ended and Obito's desire for war was demolished when he was defeated by Naruto and the help of the Akatsuki. After the organization realized that Obito was merely using them for his own personal gain they refused to help him any further and we headed to Konoha to settle things down and give all of our information to Lady Tsunade. After days of trying to convince her she finally agreed to let us help defeat Obito and Kabuto. When the war was finished she even let us live in the Leaf Village under Anbu supervision. Once she was sure we wouldn't go against our word after a year she let us move around freely. Sasuke and Itachi are on speaking terms once the idiot got the files on the Uchiha Massacre.

All in all things were finally peaceful here; my brother hadn't been spotted in over two years and I was finally able to settle down for a bit. Kakuzu and I had gotten married after we were trusted in Konoha. I found out I was pregnant with our daughter before the start of the war, and let me tell you, Kakuzu was one protective mother fucker when he found out.

"Oi, bitch, is dinner ready yet?" Hidan asked. Oh yea, the entire Akatsuki are sharing the large apartment room.

"Almost, Hidan," I replied seasoning some salmon for Kisame.

"Hida!" I heard Akemi yell as a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist.

"Well hello, love," I said as I turned to kiss my husband's cheek, "I made your favorite."

Kakuzu kissed my temple, "Thank you, Ai."

"How is my squirt doing?" Hidan asked.

I looked over and glared at Hidan who was currently holding Akemi over his head with a grin plastered on his face, "Hidan, how many times do I have to tell you that she isn't yours?"

"Hey be fucking grateful that I'm attached to that ass hole's daughter," Hidan said.

"Mommy, what does 'fucking' mean?" Akemi asked cocking her head to the side cutely. Then it registered that my daughter had just cursed.

"Akemi, don't you ever say that word again, okay?" I said sternly.

Kakuzu walked over to the pair and took his daughter from Hidan, "Stop cussing so freely around her, idiot."

"Why don't you fucking make me?!" Hidan shouted.

Before Kakuzu could punch his head, a blue fist connected with the zealot's skull first.

"Not in front of our favorite four-year-old," Kisame said.

Akemi giggled, "You suwe got him, Kisa!"

Kisame chuckled, "Yeah, I did, huh?"

"Akemi, sweetie, can you do your mother a huge favor?" I asked.

Akemi's eyes brightened as she looked at me, "Do I get a speciawl mission?!"

"Yes, but it's top secret. I have to whisper it to you," I replied.

The brunette immediately began squirming out of her father's arms until he put her down with a chuckle. She then ran over to me, "What's the mission?"

I bent down and whispered, "I need you to set the table as fast as you can." Now Akemi has her own ability already; she is one fast little girl. Rock Lee even has a hard time keeping up with her at her age with the leg weights on.

"As fast as I can?!" she asked excitedly.

"As fast as you can," I replied rubbing my nose against hers, "Once you finish I want you to get the others in her for dinner in the most creative way you can."

Akemi beamed before doing as I instructed. Because Kakuzu was away on missions most of the time he never really got to see his daughter. His blue eyed daughter would always try and succeed to impress him anytime she could. It just so happens that showing off her speed was her favorite thing to do in the world. I smiled as she ran to get the others in the base to come eat.

"She keeps getting faster every time I see her," Kakuzu said smiling through his mask.

"I'm going to hate it when she's a young lady..." I sighed as I began serving the food based on where each person sat.

"Boys better fucking stay away from her if they want to live," Hidan growled as he began eating his food.

"For once I agree with you," Kakuzu said as also began eating.

"I think it's safe to assume we all feel that way about that situation," Kisame chucked.

I took my usual seat next to my husband and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for dinner," Kakuzu said between bites.

"Anytime, sweetie," I replied with a yawn.

"Will you be going out tonight?" Kakuzu asked as he looked at me.

By this time everyone but Zetsu and Sasori were entering the Kitchen and had heard my husband's question. "Unfortunately, yes I will be...I already feel the chakra wearing me out," I replied with a sigh.

Kakuzu nodded in understanding as he went back to eating. I knew he hated me being in so much pain from the damned monster, but he also was aware he couldn't do anything about it. The Leaf Village was definitely surprised when they found out that I was the Guardian that so many people spoke of. Needless to say they were grateful when I decided to protect the village from any trespassers during the night.

I heard a fit of giggles coming from Sasori's room. Sasori wouldn't admit it, but he absolutely adored my daughter along with the majority of the Akatsuki. Zetsu tolerated her, but he didn't play favorites like Hidan did.

"Oi, Akemi, I got you a fucking gift!" Hidan shouted.

Deidara began bursting into a fit of laughter.

"What? What did I-you shit head! You know I wasn't fucking talking about that kind of gift!" Hidan shouted.

Deidara couldn't help but continue laughing at Hidan's remark.

Akemi ran back into the kitchen and tackled Hidan to the ground causing mostly everyone to chuckle, "What did you get me, Hida?!"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," Hidan grinned as he reached into his pocket. He spoiled that girl as much as he could. In other words, Akemi got a present just about every day.

The brunette squealed with delight as she was handed the small box. Her face seemed to glow with happiness as she opened it revealing a gold, heart locket with her name engraved on it, "It's so pretty Hida!"

"Do you need help opening it?" Hidan asked with a chuckle.

"Mm-hmm!"

Hidan took the necklace from Akemi and opened it up revealing a picture of each of her parents. Ai was on the left half and Kakuzu was on the right.

"So that's why you wanted those pictures," Kakuzu said as he stood up from the table.

Hidan chuckled, "You better fucking believe it!"

"Hidan, we've told you countless time not to cuss in front of the four-year-old," Itachi glared.

Akemi slipped the necklace over her head since the chain was long enough for her to do so; Hidan wanted her to be able to wear it when she got older. My daughter then kissed Hidan's cheek, "Thank you for the necklace Hida!" she said before going to her father to show off her gift. "Isn't is pretty, Daddy?!"

"Yeah, Daddy, isn't it fucking pretty?" Hidan mocked with a grin.

Kakuzu glared at Hidan, "Yes, Akemi, it's very pretty."

"Mommy, can I eat on Daddy's lap today?" she asked giving me the cutest look.

Deidara chuckled, "How anyone gets that adorable is beyond me, yeah."

"Ask your father, it depends if he lets you or not," I replied kissing her forehead.

"Can I, Daddy?"

"If you want to," Kakuzu replied stroking his daughter's hair.

Akemi smiled before getting her plate and eating.

I let out a sigh and stretched, "I'm going out, Love..."

Kakuzu frowned and looked over at me, "So soon?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'd love to stay longer, but I really can't. My energy is being drained and I already feel the chakra burning in my system..."

Kakuzu nodded before kissing me gently; a chorus of 'ew's was heard from our daughter, Hidan, and Deidara.

"I don't care if you are older than that money obsessed ass hole, it's still fucking gross seeing his ugly mug kissing a fucking hot chick," Hidan said.

I rolled my eyes, "Just grow up."

"Whewe you going, Mommy?" Akemi asked from her spot on Kakuzu's lap.

"I'm just going out to do some important business. I'll be back in the morning, sweetie," I replied kissing her forehead and standing up.

Akemi frowned, "Can I come wiff you?"

I shook my head, "But I have a better mission for you."

My daughter seemed to brighten a bit at the new assignment, "What is it?"

"I need you to stay here and protect your father and the other morons here in the house. Can you be a big girl and do that for me?" I asked.

Akemi smiled a little, "Mission accepted."

"There's my good girl; don't worry I'll be back tomorrow to do chores and play with you, okay?" I said stroking her hair.

"I'll wait until then!" she said excitedly.

I nodded before heading downstairs to mine and my husband's room; there I got my usual outfit and changed into the night outfit. I had a feeling tonight would be a challenging one and I was ready to face it head on.

As soon as I finished changing I darted outside to keep a look out for any suspicious activities. I didn't have to wait long before I recognized a foul stench that could make a man with no sense of smell cringe. It was the only creature that had venom to kill any immortal; a banshee. I knew my brother was up to something when he hadn't shown up for so many years, but to think he'd consult with more banshees was a bit surprising. I immediately darted up to the Hokage's office and pounded on the double doors.

Tsunade herself opened the doors with a frustrated look on her face, "What the hell do you want at this hour?!"

"I'm sorry, but we have an emergency; there a banshee headed straight for the village! You need to evacuate the village into the underground and get the civilians to safety!" I shouted.

"What's a banshee?" Tsunade asked, "And what do you me evacuate the village?!"

"A banshee is the one thing that has the capability to kill anything; you might want to do as I say," I said before I darted back where I entered so I could hold of the creature before it got too far into the village.

I should have known better than to feel safe; throughout the years I learned that if you do feel safe then you are in the most danger. I dropped my guard when I shouldn't have. I made my way to the entrance and thankfully saw that Tsunade did indeed take my warning and began getting the civilians to safety. Izumo and Kotetsu were looking at the village entrance while covering their nose the best they could. "What is that smell?" Kotetsu asked.

"Keep your eyes peeled; we have an unwelcome visitor approaching," I said as I scanned the area.

The one thing I despised about banshees were their lack of visibility . They could be right above you and you wouldn't even notice until the last second due to their ability to blend in with their shadowy surroundings ; which is exactly what happened. I felt something moist hit my shoulder and I looked up just in time to move out of the way of the monster's jaws. The creature got on ground level as he looked at me with what seemed to be a grin on its face. It stood twenty-six feet tall and its body was pitch black. It had a muscular build with deadly long claws extending from the five fingers on each hand on the massive arms. Because the monster's legs were short it had to balance its weight by using his arms. Four tail stretched from the banshee; each tail had its own mouth with sharp, jagged teeth waiting to rip their prey apart. The head of the monster itself had large razor sharp teeth and pupiless glowing white eyes that seemed to glare at my soul. I could easily tell what the creature's only order was; to kill me.

Izumo and Kotetsu stared wide-eyed at the monster before them. They were shocked, not that I would blame them. Before I could tell them to run the banshee's right arm swatted me into a nearby building with alarming speed. 'This banshee isn't normal...what did Brother do to it?' I thought in frustration as I removed myself from the rubble. I barely dodged another swipe but was unsuccessful when one of the tails bit onto my leg and yet again throwing me away like I was a ragdoll. I had a sudden realization; Kenta had altered this banshee. I winced as I felt the poison of the monster eat away at my chakra. I rolled onto the ground after being thrown a good forty feet. I got up as quickly as I could and got on the rooftops to try to gain the upper hand.

The damned banshee was more intelligent than that though; he slammed his body against the building I was on with such force that I was pinned to a piece of roof as it went flying into the Hokage's building. I groaned as I looked up at the creature towering above me from my position on the ground due to me being flung like that. I then noticed something white coming from his skin; it was chakra. It was the chakra that the poison was eating. I forced myself to stand up and began running at the banshee so I could get the crystallizing chakra. I dodged a tail that was aiming to bite me but was met with the creature's claws throwing me back into the Hokage's building. I had what I needed though; a handful of the chakra.

"Ai..!" I heard my husband yell.

With the strength I could muster that the venom hadn't devoured yet I shoved the crystals into my mouth and swallowed. My fangs and claws from my monster form grew out and I felt some of my strength return. With incredible speed a tail of the demon grabbed hold of my left leg and was about to throw me in the air but instead I had used my claws to cut the head off. The banshee roared with pain and sent yet another tail at my person I quickly dodged and decapitated that one as well. I knew the second I completed killing two of the tails that I wasn't going to be able to fight and win as a human. I needed to transform; the downfall to that though was I didn't have enough time or speed to actually transform. I needed to get the creature damaged on the inside before I could transform to finish it. A thought came to mind as I looked in the direction of where I heard Kakuzu's voice. Sure enough the Akatsuki were standing with a look of shock and horror evident on their faces. I began sprinting as fast as I could in their direction with the creature hot on my tail. When I was twenty feet away from my family of misfits I slammed my fists into the earth and used what little chakra I had left and used it to allow the earth to harden around my hands so I could not be pried from the ground.

Pain shot through my sides and spine as the banshee sunk its teeth into me. A rather large gap was between its jaws where my body was preventing it from completely closing its mouth. Huge amounts of blood were coming from my mouth as I looked at the Akatsuki and the other shinobi that were frozen on the spot; they were sent to help. "D-Deidara...make a clay bird and send it into the banshee's stomach..." I said in a hoarse voice.

"I-I can't, Ai. Not when you have the risk of being blown up that close to it, yeah," Deidara said.

"It's the only way, Deidara...I don't have much time and if I don't kill it then you all will die..." I tried to reason.

"Don't be crazy, I'm sure we could take it down in a heartbeat!" Naruto exclaimed.

I felt the banshee began yanking at my sides trying to get me to separate from the earth, "Do it..."

"Don't you dare, Deidara," Kakuzu ordered glaring at the bomber.

His attention snapped back over to me as the sound of bones breaking could be heard. His teeth were sinking farther into my body and the gap was starting to close; it was now or never "Do it, now!" I ordered in a gasp.

Deidara quickly created his fastest bird and immediately sent it into the banshee's stomach and detonated it. Like I had hoped the creature let go of me as it yelled out in pain and it gave me enough time to successfully transform into my demon form. As soon as I finished the transformation I sunk my teeth into the creatures neck and began forcing my chakra into the monster's neck; that was the only way to overpower and kill a banshee. It began shrieking in pain as my chakra began disintegrating its body. It took only a few minutes until the monster was destroyed, but I knew I wasn't going to make it either. My body turned human and I collapsed onto the ground on my back.

"Ai!" I heard Kakuzu shout.

I didn't turn to look at him though; my attention was focused on a figure approaching me. I saw my brother as he knelt down beside me with a satisfied grin plastered on his face, "It seems you lose after all baby sister. I win do to your lack of strength." he spat.

My eyes drifted to my right and I saw a sharp metal bar; it was a broken pipe from the rubble. With the last of my strength I grabbed said bar and shoved it into the bastard's heart. A look of shock and anger appeared on his face before the stolen chakra that belonged to Kyuubi ate his body then vanished. I stared up at the stars as they seemed brighter that night than any other. I felt the monster's chakra leave me and for once in my life felt free; funny though because I knew it was the end for me. I heard fast footsteps approaching me before I was suddenly kissed. It took a minute for me to process who was locking their lips to mine but smiled a bit when the familiar scent of my husband washed over me. "Hello, love..." I said in a whisper.

"Do you hurt..?" he asked; I could hear the heartbreak in his voice as he looked at me with sad eyes.

"I don't feel much..." I replied.

"Sakura and Tsunade are coming, they'll fix you up..." he said with hope.

"Kakuzu...I'm not going to make it..." I said in a weak voice.

"W-What do you mean..?" he asked; his voice broke.

"I love you Kakuzu...please protect Akemi and live for her..."I said as I began feeling tired.

Kakuzu swallowed and nodded forcefully.

"When you get home, also ask my beautiful girl to write a journal with all the activities we used to do together so she won't forget..." I asked.

"How could she forget about her wonderful mother..?"

I smiled a little up at my husband before my eyes closed and my world went black.


	20. Chapter 20

_This is the last chapter, and be warned, it is very sad; I cried when I typed this chapter. I thank everyone who hasn't given up on this story._

_I do not own Naruto_

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**Third Person**

Kakuzu watched as his wife's eyes shut and her breathing cease. The Akatsuki slowly made their way over to Kakuzu and their friend. Never in a thousand years did they think that Ai would die. Markle was indeed once again human and was standing to the right of his sister that took care of him. Tears began running down Markle's adult figure, "I-Is she..?"

Kakuzu stood up but kept his head low, "Yeah..."

Everyone of the Akatsuki's head hung low and didn't say another word. They all stared at their fallen comrade with broken hearts. She had kept everything in line and even saved their asses on multiple occasions. They didn't know what to say now that she was gone.

Kakuzu began walking back to the apartments; his heart was broken and he wanted nothing more than to be with his daughter. The apartments where they were staying were a good distance away from where the fight took place so he didn't have to worry about his daughter being in danger. Tears were falling from his eyes no matter how hard he tried to fight them. As soon as he reached their house he scooped up Akemi and held her close.

"Daddy, what's wong?" Akemi asked hugging her father's neck.

"...Can you do me a favor?" Kakuzu asked.

"What kind of favor?" she asked.

"Can you make a book about you and your mom for me?" Kakuzu asked.

Akemi grinned and nodded, "Of course I will."

Kakuzu put his daughter down and let her run off to start making her memories. It was going to be a long night for him.

The following morning he was sluggishly moving around the apartment. It was the day of his wife's funeral and he wanted to do nothing more than leave the world to be with his beloved Ai, but he promised her that he would keep Akemi safe and protected. Akemi came out of her room while rubbing her eyes, "Is mommy here yet?"

Kakuzu tried to fight back the tears threatening to fall, "Go put on your black dress, we're going to see her soon..."

"Why can't I weaw my pink dwess that Mommy let me pick out?" his daughter asked cutely.

"You just can't..." Kakuzu replied getting up and picking his daughter up gently. He headed to her room, "I'll help you put it on..."

Kisame sighed as he watched the pair leave the living room; he was having a hard time without his friend that liked to occasionally go swimming with him, but he could only imagine how hard it was for Kakuzu. He thought it was impossible for the miser or Hidan to find love, but when he did his wife died saving the village. The atmosphere in the house was nothing short of depressed and tension was also building. No one knew just how much Kakuzu could take before he snapped so they were on edge.

Pein and Konan came into the room; leader was wearing a nice black dress shirt and dress pants while the kunoichi was wearing a black dress. They also missed their dear friend and were having a hard time coping with the loss. "Kisame, tell the others we are leaving as soon as everyone is ready..." Pein ordered.

"Yes, Leader-sama..."Kisame replied moving around the apartment to the different rooms.

Once everyone was finished the once unbroken Akatsuki began making their way to the burial site. Even Sasori was missing his friend more than he let on; Ai had helped him discover antidotes for some of the most extreme poisons and even let him try some of them on her person to help him be more successful. She was gone now and all of the members had a piece of them missing; it was like a huge part of them was torn out and a hole had formed in their hearts.

"Daddy, why awe we going to the gwaveyawd..?" Akemi asked; fear was now clutching the poor girl's heart.

No one answered her; they all were not wanting to think about it at the moment and just kept hoping this was one of her pranks.

Silence kept them company the rest of the trip until they arrived at the graveyard. Akemi saw her Mom's face in the coffin and thought she was just asleep. "Mommy!" she exclaimed as she let go of Kakuzu's hand and darted to the coffin.

Kakuzu's head hung low as he followed his daughter to where his wife lay; he was a little surprised at what he saw though. Instead of her long silver hair, there was thick brown hair that rested beautifully on her shoulders.

"Daddy, why is Mommy still sleeping? She has to wake up," Akemi said looking up at her father.

"Kakuzu, we're going to close the lid now so she can rest in peace..." the gravedigger said.

Kakuzu didn't say anything as he picked up his daughter and carried her back over to where the rest of the shinobi were gathering. None of them will forget how she brought peace to the shinobi world and taught them a new way of thinking.

Akemi's heart began pounding as they closed the coffin lid and began lowering her into the ground. "Daddy, why awe they buwying Mommy? She said she had chowes to do and pwomised to play with me," Akemi said pulling on Kakuzu's pant leg, "They can't buwy hew!"

Kakuzu hung his head lower so no one could see the tears that were leaking out of his eyes, "Akemi, your mother isn't coming home..."

Akemi looked at her father in horror, "What do you mean? She pwomised and she never bweaks hew pwomises!"

Kakuzu knelt in front of his daughter and pulled her into a tight hug, "She's in heaven now...she died while protecting the village from a monster last night..."

Tears were now falling down the four-year-olds cheeks as she clung to her father's neck, "...Is that why you wanted me two wight mine and Mommy's fun times..?"

"...Yes..." was the last thing said between the two.

* * *

_I'm thinking about making a one-shot with Akemi as a teenager with the Akatsuki, but I'm not sure if anyone would be interested. Please let me know_


End file.
